A Matter of Faith
by Acathla
Summary: A letter sends Faith to New York where she meets a new lady, a new challenge and a whole new life.
1. Chapter 1

**A Matter of Faith**

**Chapter 1**

The battle was over, and they'd survived. The gang had ended up in LA at Angel's hotel. Angel had set them all up with rooms for a few nights as they decided where to go from there. On the third day, Buffy, Faith, Willow, Kennedy, Dawn, Xander, Giles, and Angel were sitting in the lobby talking about possible future plans. Kennedy wanted to take Willow home to New York to meet her family, Buffy and Dawn were still undecided, Giles was considering moving back to England to try to reconstruct the Watcher's Council, and Xander decided to stay in LA helping Angel. Faith, however, still did not know what she was gonna do or where she was gonna end up. But she did know that she didn't want to end up on another Hellmouth for a while.

It was during a lull in the conversation that the door to the hotel opened and a man in a suit walked in. Everyone turned to face him as Angel stood and walked over in his most menacing way.

**"Can I help you?"** Angel asked.

The man looked visibly nervous as he spoke, **"Um...yes. I am looking for a uh..."** he lifted a clipboard and consulted the list of names,** "Faith Spencer? Is she here?" **

Faith got worried but stayed quiet as she noticed Angel's shoulders tense. She somehow realized that he wanted to handle this.

**"Who's asking?" **

**"Listen buddy I just have a certified letter for her. Is she here or not?" **

**"No. Not right now but I can sign for it. I don't know when she'll be back."** Angel reached out for the clipboard.

The man thought about it for a few minutes as he glanced behind Angel towards the group of people sitting in the lobby. **"Are you Angel?" **

**"Yes. Why?"**

**"Oh, cuz the letter is addressed in care of Angel Investigations. If you're Angel then I can let you sign for it and I can go finish my route. Good."** The man visibly relaxed as he handed the clipboard to Angel and showed him where to sign.

Angel signed his name and handed the clipboard back to the deliveryman and waited as he checked the signature and then handed over a white envelope. The man smiled and then turned and walked back out the hotel door.

Angel turned the letter over in his hands until he was sure the man was really gone. Then he turned back to face the gang and walked right over to Faith and handed her the envelope. Faith took it and stared at it. She didn't know if she wanted to open it. The gang just waited silently as Faith took her time deciding. They somehow understood that she needed to open it in her own time.

Finally, Faith took a deep breath and opened the envelope and pulled out the single sheet of paper. She unfolded it and read what was typed there. As she finished reading, her hands began to tremble and the paper slipped from her fingers as she passed out.

Buffy, being closest, reached out and caught her as she fell forward and then laid Faith on the couch. Once she was sure Faith was ok, she reached over and picked up the letter. As she read it a look of sheer disbelief took over her face. Willow was the first to speak.

**"Buffy, what is it?" **

**"It's from Faith's father."** Buffy's voice betrayed the shock she was feeling. Faith had never mentioned a father.

**"Her father? Really? What's it say?"** Xander finally spoke up.

**"Um...well, I don't know if this guy really is her father cuz he has a different last name but he claims to be her biological father and that he wants her to come to see him in New York City in two weeks. Says he has some news for her about her family."**

**"Wow. That's incredible, I mean the timing of it all." **

Kennedy finally put her two cents in. **"Am I the only one who's noticing something off about this?"**

**"What do you mean exactly Kennedy?"** Buffy asked.

**"Well, think about it, I mean, after all that's happened. Faith moving to Sunnydale, then going psycho and ending up in jail and finally breaking out and helping to destroy the first evil, you're telling me in all that time her father had no way to contact her? I mean, why now? Ya know?" **

Buffy and Willow knew that Kennedy and Faith had become friends and also that Faith must've confided in her about a few things.

**"Well, yeah it does seem a bit suspicious but it's Faith's decision as to whether she meets him or not. Plus, there's more. According to this, Faith's record has been expunged." **

**"Expunged? What's that mean?"** Dawn asked.

**"Um..."** Buffy was at a loss so Angel jumped in.

**"It means that she's no longer wanted for murder. Her criminal record has been wiped clean. This means that she can leave California for New York without worrying about any cops coming after her." **

**"Well, that's good right?"** Dawn asked again. She had been really worried that Faith might have to go back to jail.

**"Yeah, that's good. She's a free woman. She can do whatever she wants now." **

**"Question now is, what does Faith wanna do?"** Buffy asked in a quiet voice. She was coming to realize just how much Faith meant to her and she didn't want to lose her now. Especially to a family she didn't even know existed.

The gang grew silent as Faith began to wake up. As her eyes slowly opened, Buffy moved to sit next to her. The first thing Faith saw when her vision cleared was Buffy, and with her defenses so low, Faith did the one thing she'd wanted to do for years...she sat up and kissed her.

After the initial surprise, Buffy gave in and kissed back and soon both girls were lost in their own world. Somewhere in the back of Faith's brain she heard a throat being cleared and she broke away from Buffy. That was when she noticed where they were and, embarrassed, she jumped up from the couch and bolted up the stairs to her room without looking back.

A still stunned Buffy just sat there as she left and then, before the gang could say anything she ran after Faith with the letter still clutched in her hand. Suddenly, Buffy wanted answers.

Faith was lying face down on her bed trying not to cry and to forget what had just happened. Not because she didn't like it but because she didn't think Buffy meant to kiss her back like that, and that hurt her more than the knife in her gut had. Faith tensed as she heard the door to her room slowly open and she heard Buffy's voice asking if it was ok to come in. Faith had a brief impulse to tell her to go away but she knew they had to talk this out because she had already decided to go to New York to meet the man who claimed to be her father.

**"Yeah B, come on in." **

Buffy walked in and closed the door before walking to sit on the bed next to Faith who had sat up as she was closing the door. Suddenly, Buffy didn't know what to say and neither did Faith so they sat in silence. Each lost in her own thoughts until finally Buffy couldn't take the silence anymore.

**"Faith, what happened down there?" **

**"You mean the kiss? Listen, B I am sorry about that. I didn't mean to kiss you like that. Just, put it down to temporary loss of sanity or something ok?"** Faith didn't want Buffy to know that it was more than that. That she was pretty sure she was in love with Buffy and also equally sure that Buffy would never want her like that so the easy way was to pretend she didn't mean it.

Buffy didn't understand the disappointment that ran through her to hear Faith say she didn't mean to kiss her. Buffy was pretty sure that it had meant more than that to Faith but without proof, there was no way she could just call her on it. So, she dropped it and changed the subject.

**"So...um...do you know what you're gonna do about the letter you got?" **

Faith jerked her head towards Buffy.** "You read it?" **

**"Well...yeah. After you passed out I was curious as to what could make you pass out and so I read it. Sorry, I was just worried about you." **

**"Oh, nah it's ok B. At least now I don't have to tell you what it was about. Saves time."** Faith smiled.

**"So, what are you going to do?" **

**"Me? I'm gonna go to New York and see this guy and see what he has to say. Why?"**

**"Wondering. And, just like that you're gonna go see him? What if it's a trap? Or, a scam or something. Faith, you've gotta think about this, please."**

**"Why does it matter so much to you B? It's not like we've ever been the best of friends. Thought you'd be happy to finally see me leave. Besides, it doesn't matter if this guy's the real deal or not. I've wanted to go back east for a while now ya know? See my mom's grave and make my peace with her, somehow. Also, I 'm getting tired of all the sun here in California. Thinking maybe I need to be on my own, away from everything that happened here. So, why not?"**

**"Oh...I see."** Buffy's voice lowered as she turned away from Faith, the truth finally hitting home. Faith didn't wanna get away from California so much as get away from her and that hurt. Knowing that Faith didn't want to be anywhere near her just hurt Buffy more than she ever thought it would.** "Away from me, I get it really I do. I'll just leave now."** Buffy suddenly needed to get out of there before the tears that were threatening fell.

Faith watched as Buffy practically ran from the room. Faith wanted so badly to stop her and make her realize that it wasn't like that. But in a way, it was. Getting away from Buffy might help her to get over the blonde slayer. Since three years in prison hadn't done the trick, maybe a totally different time zone and coast might.

_Three Days Later_

Faith stood in the lobby of Angel's Hotel and said goodbye to the gang, well to Dawn, Xander, Giles and Angel anyway. Willow and Kennedy were going to go with Faith to New York cuz Kennedy's family was there. And Buffy had refused to say goodbye to Faith, she was still hurting over her decision to leave and a part of her wished Faith has asked her to go with her. Buffy would've said yes and dragged Dawn along too. But, Faith never asked and Buffy had just enough pride to not mention it.

Faith noticed Buffy's absence and was saddened by it. _'Oh well. Guess it's probably for the best. I'm not really into long goodbyes and if I saw her I know I'd probably give in and stay just to be with her.'_

The three ladies left the hotel and got into their waiting cab and went to the airport. Faith was quiet the whole way to the airport and Kennedy and Willow were talking about Kennedy's family and her hometown and all that.

Finally, at LAX they boarded their flight to New York and relaxed into their seats. Faith soon fell asleep for the whole flight as Kennedy and Willow joined the Mile-High Club...twice.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The plane landed at New York's JFK Airport and Faith, Kennedy, and Willow said a brief goodbye. Faith was going to Manhattan and Kennedy's family was on Long Island so they had to part company. But Kennedy gave Faith the address and phone number of her family's house if she ever needed anything or just wanted to talk. Faith accepted it with a smile and then turned and walked away with a backpack slung over her shoulder. Two outfits, another pair of shoes, and the basic toiletries were in the backpack and really that was all Faith needed to survive.

Kennedy and Willow watched Faith leave. Then, Kennedy turned to Willow and smiled. **"Ready to meet the fam baby?" **

Willow smiled back, a tad nervous. **"Ready as I'll ever be. Let's go." **

Kennedy noticed the nervousness and leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend. It seemed to calm Willow down. Kennedy then led Willow to the rental car booth.

Faith hailed a cab and had it take her to Times Square. Giles had given her a large sum of money before she left, to cover her expenses for a while. Faith got out at 42nd and 8th and took a look around. She had a weird feeling of coming home, she couldn't explain it so she shrugged it off and walked downtown until she found a suitable (cheap) hotel. She walked in and got a room. She got to the room, took a shower, then picked up the phone by the bed and dialed the phone number her father had given her in the letter. After the third ring, the line was answered by a man with a deep, raspy voice.

**"Hello?" **

**"Um...hi. This is Faith is Martin Carlson there?"** Faith asked a bit nervously. Martin Carlson was the name her father had given her.

**"Faith, hello. This is Martin. Are you in New York already?" **

**"Yup just got in. So, how do you wanna do this?"** Faith decided to just cut to the chase. No sense in beating around the bush right?

The man cleared his throat. **"Um...I have some business stuff to take care of today until 7 but, maybe we could meet up tonight at 8?"**

**"Sure, that works. Where?" **

**"Are you familiar with the city?"** Martin asked, concerned about making sure Faith could find the meeting spot.

**"Yeah, kinda. I can get a map, it's no big. So...where?" **

**"Ok, sounds good. Um, the Bethesda Terrace in Central Park then? Should still be light enough outside to be safe. It is summertime. Sound good?"**

**"Um...yeah sounds good to me. 8pm sharp then at the Terrace. See you there...Martin." **

**"See you Faith."** Martin smiled at hearing Faith say his name. He had been worried that she'd try to be formal and call him Mr. Carlson or Sir or something like that. But, no, she'd called him Martin, it gave him hope that maybe soon, she'd call him dad. Martin hung up the phone and so did Faith.

Martin looked around the room and his gaze fell to a photograph of a young woman with a small child. The woman's dark hair was spread out over her shoulders left bare by the strapless dress she wore. Her arms were holding a little girl, about 3 years old, who smiled like an angel. The little girl's hair matched her mother's as did the happy, carefree smile on her face. Both of them looked like nothing could ever wipe the smiles from their faces. But the mother's eyes also held...love. A love that at the time seemed strong and lasting and indestructible. The little girl was Faith, and that picture had been taken just five months before it all fell apart. Before Martin had been approached by a man from England who'd claimed that Faith was a special child, a potential Vampire Slayer, and that she needed to be trained as young as possible to ensure she'd be ready if she was called. Martin had laughed at first then raged when he realized the man wasn't kidding. He'd tried everything he could to keep Faith with him but, even Linda, his wife, had turned against him.

Linda was a Watcher. She'd been given a leave of absence when she'd met Martin and had Faith, but when it was revealed that she'd given birth to a potential slayer, Linda had been called back into service. She knew what would be required of Faith and of herself and without a moment's hesitation, she'd agreed to it all. Oh but they had fought long and hard but in the end, Martin didn't stand a chance against the Watcher's Council. They'd had more money, power, connections, and influence than Martin ever imagined and they had taken Faith from him. The divorce happened shortly after that, and Martin didn't even get joint custody. Linda got full custody and she took Faith to Boston. She raised her there and trained her and, hopefully, had loved her enough to make up for his not being therebut as he'd found out recently, Linda hadn't.

The Council had assigned another Watcher, with Linda being simply Faith's mother. Linda broke down, when she realized that she was being essentially cut out of her daughter's training and that she would have no say in how Faith was trained or treated Linda went off the deep end. She'd turned to drugs and alcohol to dull the pain. Martin assumed that when she'd been replaced as Watcher, Linda had suddenly realized what she'd given up when she'd left him and then, with the damage done and no way to go back to the way things were, drugs and alcohol and sex, became the next best things. Martin also found out about the men, thanks to a private investigator he'd hired a few months after the divorce was final. A different man every week, each one worse than the last, treating Faith like an unwanted inconvenience (and that was a best case scenario). There were times, but no proof, when Martin got the feeling that those men had done more than just ignore his little girl.

He'd get the truth from Faith and if any of them touched her at all, he'd track them down and make them pay, NO ONE hurt his daughter and got away with it for long. Martin had also found out about Faith's coma, and how she'd ended up in a coma in the first place. Martin had a bone to pick with Buffy Summers. But that could wait, until after he got the full story from Faith, because he also knew that Faith had escaped from jail and gone right to Buffy Summers and, considering they are both still alive, they must've made amends. But Martin still wanted to know the truth from Faith.

Martin went about his business as usual, but there was a hum of anticipation buzzing through him as he kept an eye on the clock, knowing he'd be seeing his daughter that night. After all these years, he was finally going to see her again. With Linda dead and the Watcher's Council destroyed, he'd found out about that too, he was finally able to contact her directly after he'd gotten her criminal record wiped clean of course. Martin Carlson wielded a lot of power in the legal community now, and having Faith's record expunged, even of a capital crime, had been easy for him. And it was the least he could do after he'd left Faith to the machinations of Linda and her Watcher. He didn't know if the watcher had been good to Faith or not, but he did know that she had been killed in 1998 by a vampire and that Faith had fled to California soon after that...Sunnydale, California to be exact and that's where all of Faith's real problems had occurred. Martin was always sorry that she didn't know about him and that she could come to him for help.

He briefly wondered if he should contact Linda's niece, tell her that her cousin was in town. Martin had remained close to Linda's sister after she'd married his best friend Roger Novak. Their daughter Casey had never known her aunt Linda but she'd still thought of Martin as her uncle. Recently, Martin began telling her about Faith, little by little without revealing the Vampire Slayer part. Casey had, admittedly, been fascinated and had wanted to meet her cousin. Casey had been his encouraging rock during everything he'd been through tracking Faith down and getting up the nerve to contact her. Martin decided that contacting Casey could wait until he'd met with Faith.

Faith took a nap after talking with her...father. She was a bit jet lagged after the flight and with the time difference, so she laid down to rest. Besides, it was still daylight out so there weren't gonna be any vamps to slay to take the edge off the waiting so she figured a nap might help.

Faith woke up a few hours later to see that it was 6 o'clock. She had two hours until the meeting and as she was tryin to decide what to do in those two hours, her stomach chimed in with its opinion. Faith decided to just go out and get something to eat and also to get acquainted with the City so she could find the Bethesda Terrace when she needed to later.

Faith found 42nd street and picked a random direction and just walked until she came to a familiar sight--the Golden Arches. Faith smiled at the McDonald's sign, nice to know that even in New York City she could still find a Big Mac.

Faith walked in and ordered a Big Mac, fries and a sprite-no ice. Faith hated when the ice melted and watered down the soda--yuk! Faith paid for her food then walked up a flight of stairs to the upper level and found an empty table for two near a front window and sat down. Eating her meal while looking out the window at the people walking by, Faith let her mind wander a bit.

After about five minutes, Faith was eating slowly, more interested in the people than the food but still hungry enough to eat, Faith glanced down and noticed a stunning woman.

She was beautiful and Faith felt an instant attraction and before she could think to get up and follow and meet her, Faith noticed that the woman entered the restaurant. Faith was so busy trying to calm herself that she didn't notice the woman sit down two tables away from her. When she did notice, Faith reverted to her usual modus operandi of sly looks and casual indifference. It was how she worked, with women anyway, as she determined if her 'prey' was interested.

Faith was an old hand at spotting...interest and this woman was giving off enough vibes to make Faith's libido stand up and take notice. There were quite a few other things Faith noticed about the woman as she sat there admiring her, as the woman distractedly looked out the window as she ate. The first thing Faith noticed was that she was noticeably older than Faith first thought, not really old, more like mid 30's and nowhere near Faith's cut off point with women.

She had tanned, smooth skin, short dark brown hair with light brown highlights and brown eyes. She also had the saddest face Faith had ever seen-- that wasn't in a mirror looking back at her that is. Faith felt a sudden urge to see that sad face happy. To see those sensuously full lips turned up in a smile just for her.

The woman turned suddenly away from the window and caught Faith looking. Faith, even though embarrassed at being caught, didn't flinch and held eye contact for a while before releasing a sexy, inviting smile.

The warmth that blossomed in Faith's belly as the woman smiled back, took Faith by surprise. It was a genuine, if slightly cautious, smile and it took Faith's breath away. The two ladies sat there smiling and looking into each other's eyes for a few more minutes then, the woman arched one eyebrow as if in question of something. But before Faith could react the woman broke the eye contact to answer her ringing cell phone.

***

**"Benson. Yeah, on my way. Bye."** Detective Olivia Benson silently cursed her partner's timing, and also praised it. Sparing one last smiling glance at the pretty young brunette who was smiling at her, she picked up her trash and half eaten meal then left.

Elliot's timing sucked cuz she was enjoying the little flirting session she'd been having with the younger girl and she wanted to at least find out if the girl was legal yet. She kinda looked it but Olivia knew by now that looks could be deceiving. After all, she herself, looked like she was ok but really she wasn't. She still missed Alex but she also knew that there was no future there...yet. One day, maybe, if the threat ever ended, she might come back and Olivia fully intended to pick up where they'd left off but until then, she was stuck here--alone and lonely. Olivia decided it was time to move on...it had been almost a year and remembering the brunette in McDonald's, she knew that she'd just passed up a great chance. She didn't even get the girl's name!

Olivia pulled up to the solid brownstone and flashed her badge to the uniformed cop standing guard. She walked past him and went up to the third floor where Elliot was waiting and talking to the ME.

**"What do we got?"** Liv asked.

Elliot turned to her then back to the ME.

**"Jennifer Walker, 25, student at Hudson University. Bludgeoned to death after she was raped, burned, cut, sodomized and see here,"** the ME pointed to the girl's throat where clear bruises showed imprints of fingers,** "she was strangled as well." **

**"Geez time of death?"** Liv asked, her professional facade covering her disgust.

**"Judging by the body temp, I'd say she's been dead since noon, but I won't know for sure until I do a full autopsy. I'll have a more definite answer then." **

**"Ok. Thanks doc."** Elliot said as he led Olivia over to a young woman who was standing next to another uniformed cop.

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Faith finished her meal in silent disappointment. She had been having fun flirting with that sexy brunette and was about to get up and say something when her cell phone rang. That killed the moment and she'd left without a word. Faith figured if anything could help her get over Buffy, that brunette sure could. In a City as big as this, she doubted she'd see her again bummer.

Faith got up and threw her trash away and left the restaurant. She walked the streets for a bit before coming upon a cop in uniform. Faith decided to ask for directions.

**"Excuse me, Officer." **

**"Yes miss, how can I help you?"** The cop was young, maybe late 20s or so. Cute, with light blond hair and blue eyes, kinda reminding Faith of Spike a bit. She smiled at that.

**"Can you tell me how to get to Central Park?" **

**"Walking, train or bus?" **

**"Um...walking I guess."**

**"It's pretty far but ok. We're on 42nd and 7th, the beginning to Central Park runs along 57th so you can walk 7th Ave in that direction until you reach 57th and there you are."** The officer explained as he pointed the way to the right, uptown. **"Also, there should be stands near the 57th street entrance that has maps of the park." **

Faith smiled at how helpful he was being.** "Well, thank you Officer..."**

**"Sommers, William Sommers."** The cop answered, thinking Faith was flirting...and she was a bit until she heard his last name and thought it was Summers not Sommers.

**"Summers?" **

**"Yes ma'am, Sommers. See?"** He pointed to the little metal tag on his uniform that had his name: W. Sommers.

Faith saw it and relaxed good, no relation to Buffy, though the blonde hair did throw her off a bit. **"Yup, there it is. Well, I better get going. One last thing, what time is it?" **

Officer Sommers checked his watch then,** "It's 7:15 pm miss."**

**"Thank you Officer Sommers, have a nice day." **

**"You're welcome miss, you too." **

With that Faith walked away in the direction he'd told her. Faith had forty-five minutes til the meeting but she wasn't dawdling. Only because she had no clue how far she had to go or how long it would take her. As Faith walked from 42nd to 57th, she looked around at the City, vainly hoping to spot that brunette from McDonald's but, no luck.

Faith reached the entrance to what she assumed was Central Park and stopped for a moment in front of this huge golden statue. She didn't know why, but it seemed familiar. Faith saw a little dark-haired girl playing near the base of the statue with a woman whom Faith assumed was her mother and it too seemed familiar. Kinda like deja vu but Faith didn't know how that was possible since she'd never been here before...that she remembered anyway. Faith soon shrugged it off and began walking towards the park.

Just as she reached the other end of the statue, the strong smell of horses and manure hit her. Faith looked around again and noticed about five horse drawn carriages lined up on the street outside the park. Faith smiled, she's seen these in movies set in New York, tourists usually used them. Faith decided it might be the best way to find the Bethesda Terrace so she walked up to the first one in line.

The horse was all white with black spots...sort of like a Dalmatian. The carriage was black with gold trim and the driver was an older gentleman with gray hair and twinkling brown eyes. Faith let him help her in and asked if he could take her to the Bethesda Terrace. The man nodded and off they went.

Faith found out the horse's name was Angel and that got a giggle out of her. But for the most part, the ride was peaceful...as long as Faith ignored the smell of the horse. They arrived at the Terrace and Faith paid the man and got out. She watched as the carriage rode out of sight then turned to the Terrace. She walked to the edge and looked beyond.

The fountain in the middle was beautiful. It was an angel, looking down at the round base. It was huge but it was beautiful and again, Faith felt a strange familiarity that bordered on deja vu. Faith just let herself get caught up in the beauty of it all.

**"It's beautiful isn't it?"** A man's deep, raspy voice intruded on Faith's thoughts. She really wasn't in the mood to be hit on. She turned to face the guy to tell him off but stopped when she saw him. **"Faith, I presume?" **

**"Yeah I'm Faith." **

The man held out his hand.** "I'm Martin Carlson. It's nice to finally meet you." **

Faith visibly relaxed a bit. She shook the man's hand. **"Nice to meet you too. Are you really my father?" **

**"You're direct, I like that."** Martin smiled.** "Yes I really am your father. I can even prove it."** The man reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded paper. He handed it to Faith, who'd tensed up thinking he was reaching for a gun or something. Martin noticed this and simply sighed.**"I'm not going to hurt you Faith. I'd never do that, here, read this." **

Faith took the paper and unfolded it. She'd never seen this, it was her birth certificate. She'd never really had a need to see it. But she had it now and there in the box marked father: Martin Carlson. In the box marked mother: Linda Spencer. But what really surprised her was the box marked hospital: Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, New York City. She was born here? Not in Boston but...here? That was gonna take some getting used to.

**"Faith, are you alright?"** Martin noticed Faith had gone pale, but he didn't know why...unless.** "Your mother never told you that you were born in New York did she?"** He already knew she'd never told her about him.

Faith shook her head.**"I never asked, just assumed I was born in Boston. Can you tell me...what happened between you two?" **

Martin nodded.**"Sure, but I would prefer to do it in private. Besides, it's dark now and the park's not safe after dark. C'mon."** Martin began to lead Faith to his waiting car when they were attacked by a vampire. Martin was knocked unconscious but Faith went right into slayer mode.

Swift kick to the groin followed by a side kick to the stomach that sent the vamp flying a few feet away. The vamp got up, pissed as all hell, and muttered, **"Slayer!"** Then charged again trying to get a punch in but Faith was quicker. Blocking and landing punch after punch, losing herself in the fight. Beating the vamp into a bloody pulp.

Someone nearby, a concerned citizen, flipped open her cell phone and called 911, telling the operator that a young woman was being attacked by the terrace in the park. Cops were soon dispatched and the citizen quickly left the area, concerned only now for her own safety.

Faith was still getting lost in the fight but keeping control over the vamp when she heard sirens. She quickly looked around then pulled a stake from her back pocket and thrust it into the vamp, watching it explode into dust. Faith looked around and noticed Martin was still unconscious and ran to him, actually concerned.

Faith was trying to wake him up when the police arrived. Faith looked up and noticed Officer Sommers and another uniformed cop. As soon as the cops learned it was Faith who was attacked, and noticed the bruises and few cuts, they called SVU and an ambulance. Within minutes, two detectives came driving up and got out of their cars, the ambulance right on their heels.

By this time Martin was awake and worrying over Faith. There was a cut above her right eye where the vamp had got in a lucky shot with sharp nails and numerous bruises that would be gone by morning. The detectives walked up to them and as Faith looked up, her eyes locked with those brown eyes she'd seen earlier in McDonald's.

Both women were caught in a moment until the cop's partner began asking questions. Faith answered him as best she could without giving away that it was a vampire.

**"What did this guy look like?"** Detective Stabler asked, noticing that Olivia had gone very silent.

**"Um...tall, dark hair, white guy, looked maybe mid-thirties...not too sure on that one. Horrible breath, like something had died in there ya know?"** Faith made a face then smiled. So far she hadn't lied. The vamp did look like he'd been in his mid-thirties (when he'd been turned at least), and his breath was horrible...it had that coppery smell of fresh blood. Faith figured he'd just eaten when he'd found her. Somewhere in this park was either a dead body or a vamp waiting to rise.

Stabler grimaced,**"Yeah, what happened miss... I'm sorry I didn't get your name." **

**"Faith, my father and I were walking back to his car when this guy came and attacked us." **

**"What happened then, Faith?"**

**"My father was knocked unconscious and I defended myself. Black belt in karate, judo and tae kwon do. Came in handy tonight."**

**"I see, so where is he now?" **

Faith shrugged her shoulders...she really didn't know nor did she care where vamps went after they were dusted. Now she knew she had to lie a bit.** "Ran away, didn't notice which direction though, I was concerned with my father by then." **

Stabler nodded, satisfied for now. He turned to his partner, who still hadn't said anything. **"Liv?" **

**"I'm good. Um, Faith, maybe you should let the paramedics have a look at that cut. And if you remember anything else that might help us, call."** With that she handed the girl named Faith her card...with her home number scribbled on the back. She'd put her home number there while Elliot had been questioning her, luckily, no one was looking at the time.

Faith took the card and looked at it. _'Detective Olivia Benson: Special Victims Unit. Well at least I know her name and how to find her now. Too bad I found out like this though. Oh well, some things can't be helped I guess.'_ Faith turned the card over and saw another number there and smiled briefly. _'Still got it.'_

**"Yeah, sure."** Faith quietly went over to the paramedics and let them put a butterfly bandage on her cut, knowing full well it'd be healed by the morning.

Once statements were taken, the cops left and it was just her and Martin again. Faith insisted on driving since he'd been knocked out. Martin didn't argue once he made sure she knew how to drive. Then he gave detailed directions to his apartment.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

On the drive to Martin's apartment, there was silence until he finally got the nerve to ask.** "That was a vampire wasn't it?" **

Faith was shocked. **"What do you mean?" **

**"Faith, I know about vampires, and I know that you're a slayer." **

**"What?! How do you know?" **

Martin sighed, now or never.** "It was part of the reason your mother and I split up. You were three years old when this British guy came to the house and told me and Linda that you were a potential slayer. I didn't believe him but Linda did. She'd been a watcher see, and she'd known since you were 6 months old that you were a potential. When I refused to believe it and allow you to be taught to fight, Linda and the council took you away from me. I fought long and hard Faith, to keep you with me but I lost. Linda took you to Boston. I'm so sorry Faith." **

**"Wait, what are you sorry for? Sounds like it wasn't you're fault." **

**"I'm sorry for not trying sooner to get you away from your mother, I wanted to but the Watcher's council threatened to kill you if I tried. Linda was there when they told me that and the look in her eyes told me they weren't kidding. I wasn't allowed anywhere near you, so I turned my focus to building up the kind of money and power I'd need to fight a group like the Council. But by that time, you'd left Boston. I didn't find you until after you were in a coma. I was still afraid the council would try to kill you so I kept my distance. Then, when I heard it had been destroyed and that you were back in Sunnydale, I started to build up the courage to contact you. By the time I did, you were in LA, how did you escape that huge earthquake that hit Sunnydale?" **

It was a lot for Faith to take in but she managed to so far. She noticed they were on Martin's street.** "Which one is it?"** Martin pointed to a big one on the left.

Martin actually lived in a mansion in Westchester but he also kept an apartment in Manhattan. That was where they'd driven. Faith pulled into the underground garage and into the spot Martin indicated, not that he needed to tell her since his name was painted in big bold letters over six parking spots. Three spots were already taken so Faith pulled into the fourth and turned the car off. Their conversation was paused by silent mutual agreement as Martin led her to the elevator. They got in and he took out a key and put it in the lock next to the PH button and turned then pressed the PH button.

As the elevator went up, it stopped once to pick up a passenger in the building's lobby and then once more on the 15th floor to let the man off. Then it was a smooth trip to the top floor. Faith was silently trying to not only process what he'd told her in the car but also what he'd just done. Obviously, only someone with the key could get to the top floor, how'd that work when a friend visited?

The elevator doors opened and Martin let Faith step out first. She stepped out expecting to see a nice hallway but nope, she'd walked into what looked like another room. It was nice, sky blue carpeting, with a slightly darker blue on the walls and tastefully placed light sconces on the walls giving off a welcoming glow. Faith heard the elevator closing and turned to see that Martin was standing there watching her reaction.

**"This is very nice, this is you're place?"**

**"Yes it is. Well, one of them anyway. I own this building Faith, this top floor apartment is my treat to myself. Come, I'll give you the tour if you'd like." **

**"Sure, lead the way Martin."** Faith was putting off their conversation as much as she could, so she could finish processing everything.

Martin understood and gave her the tour. First, the living room, which also had the same sky blue carpet and blue walls, the dining room whose color scheme was sandy brown, each of the five bedrooms with their own unique color scheme and several nice views of the city. The three bathrooms all a paler blue than the carpet in the living room, the kitchen, whose theme was stainless steel, it looked like a restaurant's kitchen. Finally, there was the game room, named not because there was dead animals or anything but because it housed every game imaginable. Playstation (1 & 2), Xbox, Gamecube, N64, and even the NES and Sega Genesis, each with its own 35inch TV. Another TV hooked up to a DVD/VHS and a huge stereo. There was a pool table at one end, a dart board on the wall, a small wet bar in one corner and an arcade style basketball game in another corner. Faith noticed a shelf on the far wall and it had board games stacked from the floor to the ceiling. Faith stood in awe in the doorway of the room, almost as if she wasn't worthy to enter.

**"Wow, this is...wow."** Was all Faith could say.

Martin smiled, **"Glad you like it, I created this room for you Faith. I wasn't sure what you'd like so I just got everything, there's still some stuff on backorder though. That'll get here within the next two weeks I'm sure. Hopefully, you'll still be around then, I'd like it if you were." **

**"I think I'd like that too, but you shouldn't have gone to all this trouble for me."** Faith suddenly flashed back to the Mayor and that apartment he'd gotten her, everything she'd ever wanted, and she didn't like the comparisons so she pushed those thoughts away and focused on the moment.

**"Nonsense, you're my daughter Faith, and I've missed almost your entire life. I wanna make up for that, or at least try to, if you'll let me."** Martin paused to let that sink in. **"Shall we go into the living room? Finish our talk?" **

**"Sure." **

They went back into the living room but when they got there Martin remembered that he hadn't eaten yet.** "Are you hungry Faith?"**

Faith just noticed she was starving, she'd managed to control the after effects of slaying on the drive over by focusing on what he'd told her but now, at the mention of eating, the hunger was back at full force.

**"Starving actually, slaying always makes me hungry."** Faith felt it would be best to leave out the horny part, that she could control until she got to a cold shower...or a hot body.

**"Really? Hmmm...interesting side effect but it makes sense. Fighting, all that exercise I guess you gotta replace what you're working off right? Ok, let's go in the kitchen and see what I can whip up ok?"**

Faith couldn't help the look of disbelief that popped up in her face just like she couldn't help her next words,** "You can cook?"**

**"Single man, on his own had better learn to cook or risk either starving or going broke from take out. Seriously though, before you were born I took a course in culinary arts. Back when I thought I wanted to be a chef, grew out of that phase but still remembered how to cook. It was actually how I won your mother's heart." **

**"Yeah? Can you tell me about that? About how she was before I was born." **

**"If you'd like. Let's see,"** While he began to tell her, he took out ingredients for the meal. Faith tried to mentally guess what he was making but gave up as soon as he began talking about her mother.

**"Linda, she was...difficult I guess would be the best term. She didn't want anything to do with me at first. See, my best friend, Roger, was dating her sister and they both thought we'd be good together. So they played matchmaker, but Linda didn't share their opinion. She thought I was...beneath her I think was the term she used. See, Linda had been sent to a boarding school in England since she was 10 years old. Her sister lucked out and managed to stay in the states and attend private school. It was while she was in England that she was recruited by the Watcher's Council. But anyway, her experience with the other girls at that school, rich little brats who thought no one less than a Duke was good enough, shaped Linda's outlook. When she graduated from Oxford she returned home and that was when her sister, Kate, started trying to convince her to give me a shot. But Linda kept refusing." **

**"Why didn't you just give up and move on?" **

**"Good question, I guess because from the first moment I saw her I was hooked. There was no one else for me."** As he spoke he prepared dinner. Expertly chopping, slicing, and dicing. He had two pots on the stove by now and a pan where he was sauteing onions, garlic and oregano in olive oil. **"Can you pass me that spoon there Faith?" **

Faith handed him the spoon and waited for him to continue.** "So anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, so Linda wouldn't have me and I only wanted her, so I cooked up the perfect plan, pun intended there, and I decided to throw a small dinner party. Just the four of us really, Kate, Roger, Linda and me. I cooked the whole meal, appetizer to dessert, took me all day but it was worth it. They arrived just as I was placing the chocolate souffle into the oven. We ate in relative silence so the souffle wouldn't fall. Needless to say that by the time the souffle was gone, Linda was impressed. She agreed to give me a chance. Said any man that would go to all that trouble to get her attention deserved a shot." **

**"Wow, so I take it you made the most of your chance huh?" **

**"Yes I did, I dipped into my trust fund, which Linda never knew I had, and courted her in a way that would make even a Prince look poor by comparison. Three months later we were married." **

**"Were you...happy? The both of you I mean, happy in the marriage?" **

**"I always thought we were, things seemed near perfect. We worked, went out on weekends, trips during the summer, it was what I'd always wanted. And then we got really blessed and Linda told me she was pregnant. I was thrilled. I think I might've gotten on her nerves a bit though." **

**"Why?"**

**"I--I became very overprotective of her when she was pregnant with you. Coddled her really, never let her do anything too strenuous, always made sure she rested. Then I committed the ultimate sin and cut off her coffee supply."**

**"Mom liked coffee?"** This was a shock; every time she'd tried to sober her mother up with coffee she'd slap the cup away then slap her for good measure.

**"She loved it, drank like 10 cups a day. You seem surprised, why?" **

**"Well, when I was growing up, mom would get drunk and when I tried to give her coffee to sober her up, she'd slap the cup away."** Faith thought it best to leave out the getting slapped part.

**"Hmmm...guess maybe it reminded her of earlier times. Anyway, she really got mad at me for not letting her have her coffee but the doctor insisted on no caffeine, which meant no soda either. Just juice, water and milk, boy was she mad. Kept saying she'd get me for that, but there was always a spark in her eyes that told me she was just kidding. After you were born, nothing could pry you from my arms unless it was feeding time or time for me to go to work. You were my little girl, and you knew it. I think that might've also been a factor in Linda's decision to leave. She knew that she couldn't compete in the favorite parent department so she did the next best thing and took you away from me."**

By this time, dinner was done and Martin decided they'd eat in the kitchen at the little breakfast table. He told Faith where the plates were and she got two down for them. Martin served up two big plates of angel hair pasta with a homemade red wine sauce. Once the plates were on the table he turned back to the oven and pulled out the loaf of garlic bread and cut it up into pieces and put it into a basket and put it on the table too. Then got out a bottle of Chardonnay, **"Faith, do you drink wine or would you prefer something else?" **

**"Take a beer if you got it, or juice if not. Not a big wine gal."**

**"Beer it is then."** Martin put the wine back and got two long neck bottles of Corona out of the fridge along with a lime which he sliced up into quarters and put in a small dish. Once everything was on the table he pulled out Faith's chair and she sat down, then he sat.

Faith smiled as she realized that this was what she'd always wanted, dinner with family. With a parent who cared and took the time to show it by cooking a meal...something Buffy had always taken for granted when Joyce was still alive.

Martin noticed Faith hadn't eaten yet,** "Faith? You ok? It is safe to eat you know... not like I'm gonna try to poison you or anything." **

Faith smiled.** "I know, just...was thinking about something."** Faith began eating and noticed it was really, really good.

**"Mind if I ask what you were thinking about?" **

**"Just...remembering all those times in Boston, when I'd be watching TV and see families having dinner together and wishing I could be there with them ya know?"**

**"I think I understand. Well, if you decide to stay we can have dinner like this every night. I'd be more than happy to cook dinner every night." **

**"Stay?"**

**"Oops, guess I'm kinda jumping the gun aren't I? But I won't lie to you Faith, I would love nothing more than to have you move in here and live with me. I want us to be a family again but I understand that you might be...wary of that. I understand if there are...trust issues when it comes to men but I want you to know that you can trust me Faith."**

**"Last person who said that to me ended up sticking a knife in my gut, so you'll forgive me if it brings back bad memories." **

Martin visibly paled. He'd known about the whole knife thing but he hadn't known that Faith had thought she could trust the person who did it. **"Buffy Summers wasn't it?"** Martin asked...trying to sound casual but knowing he'd failed.

Faith heard the tremor of anger underneath the trying-so-hard-to-be-casual tone in her father's voice. Faith had accepted he was indeed her father, but how did he know about Buffy?

**"Yeah...how'd you know her name?" **

**"Ever since I tracked you to Sunnydale, I kept a close eye on you. Well, I hired a private investigator to keep an eye on you. He had strict orders not to interfere just to observe. And report back every week. I know almost everything, well the facts anyway. The motives, emotions and stuff I don't know. In fact, when I heard that she'd almost killed you I almost hired someone to kill her. But I stopped myself in time. Because you were still alive, in a coma yes, but still alive. I was in the middle of making arrangements to have you moved to a hospital here when you woke up. And then you ended up in jail. There wasn't much I could do about that but I did what I could. It took a few years but , again, I was in the middle of getting you an early parole into my custody here when you broke out and went back to Sunnydale. My investigator told me what was happening there, well, as much as he could seeing as how he didn't know about the vampires and stuff. Maybe someday, you could tell me what really happened there? But until then I can wait. So then you left there and ended up back in LA. I was afraid you'd try to return to jail so I pulled some strings and got your record expunged. That was when I finally got the courage to send you that letter." **

**"I see...wow. You went to all that trouble just to find me? Why?" **

**"You're my daughter Faith. I love you, I've loved you since you were born and I finally had the means to contact you." **

**"But why was that so important? I mean, you could've turned around and just said 'fuck it' and lived your life. I never would've known differently."**

**"That's partly why I did it Faith. You never would've known differently than you've known your whole life. And I wanted you to know that there was someone, me, who you could turn to, trust and who loved you unconditionally. I wanted you to know that you are not alone Faith. Even though, considering you probably made friends this time in Sunnydale, you probably already knew that, I wanted to make sure you knew it. I also wanted to meet you Faith, to have you meet me."**

**"Oh, makes sense I guess. And yeah I did make some friends and also made peace with old rivals but, until tonight I still felt alone. I've been on my own since I was 16, and I got used to it, accepted it as the way things were. Now you tell me that I am not alone anymore, it's gonna take some getting used to ok?"**

**"Of course, old habits die hard, I know this. Take all the time you need Faith, and in the meantime if you like you can stay here. You'd have full run of the place during the day when I'm at work and when I get home we can have dinner together and anything else you'd like."**

**"I get the feeling that if I let you, you'd spoil me rotten." **

**"Yes, I probably would. I missed out on 18 years of your life Faith, that's a lot to make up for. But I would at least try to hold myself back...a bit."** Martin smiled.

Faith smiled back, thinking she could probably get used to having a loving parent in her life. Someone she could count on and talk to, someone who knew she was a slayer who needed to patrol, speaking of which. **"I do have something to ask you Martin." **

**"Faith, you can ask me anything, and I hope that one day you'll be comfortable enough to call me dad but I can wait for that too. So what'd you wanna ask me?" **

**"Well, you know that I'm a slayer and that means that I hafta be out there at night killing vampires. If I did move in here, would you be able to let me do that? Go out on patrols like a slayer should?" **

**"I said before I won't lie so here goes. I'm not going to pretend that I like the thought of you fighting vampires and risking your life, but I do understand that it's a part of who you are and that you can't change that so yes I would let you go out and patrol. But, I'd be waiting up for you every night to make sure you got back safely."**

**"Liking the honesty, and I guess I can put up with having you wait up for me as long as you don't try to run my life or tell me what to do, deal? I'll move in here if you can agree to that." **

Martin thought about that for a minute. He knew he could agree to her terms but he also knew it would be tough to hold back. But he would try, for a second chance to be the father she deserved, he would try his very best. **"Deal, it won't be easy but I'll make every effort to refrain from telling you what to do. Fair enough?"**

**"Yeah."** By this time Faith had eaten not only her plate of pasta but most of the garlic bread and two beers. Sleep had begun to set in a bit. **"I'm getting tired though, long flight and then that slay. Mind if I crash here?" **

**"Of course not, go pick out a room. A word of advice though, the red and blue room has a closet full of clothes in your size. Not saying you have to pick that room but when you do pick your room, you can move the clothes over ok?"**

**"Ok, sounds good. Well, goodnight...dad."** Faith took a risk and then went over and gave him a kiss on the cheek then walked out, hearing him say a surprised goodnight. Faith smiled, knowing it wouldn't be long before this apartment felt like home. Faith walked through each of the four available bedrooms, knowing which one was her father's. She tried to get a feel for each room but when she walked into the red and blue room, she got the feeling of being home. She walked around the room, certain that the feeling was just because she knew the closet held her clothes but, no, the more time she spent in the room the bigger the feeling got of being home. Faith sat down on the bed, trying to figure it out when Martin appeared in the doorway.

**"I take it you picked this one?" **

**"More like it picked me but, yeah. Is that ok?" **

**"Very ok, I had a feeling you'd pick this one. Feels like home doesn't it?" **

**"Yeah it does...how'd you know?"**

**"This room is an exact copy of your bedroom when you were three, well except for the bed it was much smaller back then. You never seemed the type for Barbie sheets or anything like that, but when you got older I was going to let you redecorate anyway you wanted. But...that never happened. So when I decorated this apartment I told the decorator that this room had to be exactly like this. I guess a part of you still remembers the room." **

**"Guess so, thanks. I love it." **

**"I'm glad. Of course, if there's anything you wish to change you are more than welcome to. I want you to feel that this is your home Faith. Maybe this weekend, if you want, we can go up to the house in Westchester." **

**"You have another house? Why?" **

**"Sometimes I like to leave the City for the weekend to relax. Trust me, you'll probably never wanna leave it but the City holds morenight crawlers. Anyway, good night Faith. I'm going to be up for a little while longer in my office returning some calls. See you in the morning?"**

**"Sure thing, goodnight."**

**"Goodnight." **

Martin closed the door and left. Faith looked around and decided to just get changed for bed but then realized she needed a shower. Thankfully, this bedroom shared a bathroom with another one so she didn't have far to go. After making sure the two doors to the bathroom were locked she stripped and took a shower.

Half an hour later, Faith crawled into the full sized canopy bed and fell asleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Martin sat in his home office, which was connected to his bedroom, and smiled. His daughter was finally home. He finally had his second chance to be a father and he wasn't going to blow it. The phone on his desk rang and he picked it up quickly, not wanting to wake up Faith.

**"Hello?"**

**"Martin, it's Casey."**

**"Hi Casey, what can I do for you?"**

**"Just wanted to talk to someone. Tough case at work which I lost and then had to listen to a tirade from the detectives on the case about how I'd messed up and let a rapist back on the streets."**

**"I'm sorry Casey, I know how hard it is to lose a case. I do have something that could possibly cheer you up though." **

**"I hope so, I could use some good news. What is it?" **

**"My daughter Faith is here."**

**"Faith?! Oh my god why didn't you tell me earlier?" **

**"Sorry, was kinda busy earning her trust. She's a challenge but I think she's coming around. I got her to agree to move in here so that's a good start." **

**"Is she around? Can I say hello?" **

**"Sorry Casey, she's sleeping. Plus, I haven't told her yet that she has a cousin. She sorta knows about your mom and her connection to her mom but...we didn't get around to kids." **

**"There's more to this than you're saying, what's up?" **

Martin sighed.** "Apparently, I was right about Linda turning to alcohol, Faith let it slip that she was often drunk. Faith doesn't have a high opinion of her mother I think. Not sure how she'd react to a cousin on her mother's side ya know? I don't mean to hurt you, just saying." **

**"I understand Martin. My mother never really spoke of her sister after she left you. I only knew she was married to you because my dad insisted on telling me before I met you. Still, I would like to meet her...she's family."**

**"I know Casey, um...tell you what. I'll tell her tomorrow morning and if she's ok with it maybe we can all have lunch tomorrow?" **

**"Tomorrow, yeah I'm free tomorrow. Around 1 o'clock?" **

**"Sounds good, I'll call your cell when I can confirm Faith's presence ok?" **

**"Ok, but even if she says no, can we still have lunch?" **

**"Yes of course. See you tomorrow Casey." **

**"Thanks Martin, see you tomorrow. Goodnight." **

**"Goodnight Casey." **

Martin hung up and sat there smiling. After a few minutes, he got up and, after making sure the apartment was secure for the night, went to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

After a rough night, Detective Olivia Benson walked into the squad room of the 16th Precinct in an oddly upbeat mood. She was in a good mood only because of what happened the night before. She'd met that young brunette she'd flirted with at McDonald's and now she knew her name. Faith, it seemed oddly fitting to Olivia. At this point in her life, she could use a little more faith...in more ways than one. Plus, the girl now had her number, yup Olivia felt good. But the file that waited for her on her desk quickly put an end to that.

Within twenty minutes, Olivia's good mood was gone as she was immersed in the dark world of sex crimes.

ADA Casey Novak was also in a good mood this morning but for slightly different reasons. Martin had called and confirmed that Faith would join them for lunch later. She was so excited...and nervous. She'd heard enough about Faith from Martin to realize that she and Faith probably had nothing beyond DNA and Martin in common. Casey wanted to change that, she wanted to have a cousin (at last) to hang out with and talk to. Sadly, there were very few friends she could talk to about her job. And while one would think that Olivia would be the perfect person to talk to, there was still an iciness there. Casey had figured it out within a few weeks why, Olivia resented her for replacing the late Alex Cabot. According to Liz Donnelly, her boss, Olivia and Alex were very close and Olivia took her death the hardest of all the SVU detectives. Casey could tell this by the level of warmth and cooperation she got from the other detectives. After a few cases, they'd warmed up and stopped treating her like the enemy lawyer who messed up their cases. She became one of them in a way, an ally who they could work with...all except Olivia. She put up a good show around the others but when it was just them, her true feelings came out and the iciness was back.

Casey didn't mind anymore. She decided that if Olivia ever wanted to change her mind about her then that would be great but Casey wasn't going to beat herself up over it.

Casey walked into the SVU squad room and after greeting the detectives, walked into Captain Cragen's office for their meeting.

Olivia watched as Casey went into the Captain's office and the door closed.

**"Hey El, you got the autopsy report on Jennifer Walker there?" **

Elliot shuffled some papers around and found the report. **"Yeah, right here, haven't had a chance to read it. Hang on."** Elliot opened the folder and read the report. What he found was pretty much what the ME had told them at the scene but it was what was written in the notes section that caught his eye.

_**"Body was completely drained of blood, and there were two puncture wounds on the upper inner right thigh which was hidden before by the blood. Origin and cause of wounds-unknown but definitely not the cause of death."**_

Elliot didn't know what to make of that so he handed it to Olivia without a word. Olivia read the report and when she came to the notes section she too was confused. Just as she was about to suggest visiting ME Warner for some clarification, Casey exited the captain's office in mid conversation with Cragen.

**"Well, Captain, I'll keep that in mind thanks." **

**"Anytime counselor, and have fun at lunch." **

**"I will, in case you need anything though I'll be at, as weird as this is going to sound, the McDonald's on 42nd street."**

Cragen couldn't quite hide the smile as he clarified, **"McDonald's? Somehow I can't picture you there." **

**"Not my usual choice but it was my cousin's choice and since it's our first meeting I want her to be comfortable you know? Anyway, won't be so bad, they serve salads too. I should go, see you later Don." **

**"Bye Casey, tell Martin I said hello ok?" **

**"Will do." **

With that, Casey Novak said goodbye to the detectives and left the squad room, she still had an hour until lunch so she went to her office to work a bit more.

Olivia went over to Cragen and verified for herself where Casey would be, but she didn't ask who she would be with cuz it made no difference to her. She had a feeling that whatever clarification Warner could give them was gonna require some legal advice.

Elliot and Olivia put their jackets on and headed to the Medical Examiner's office to see if she could clarify the notes she wrote.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

Olivia and Elliot walked into the viewing room where the ME was waiting for them with the body of Jennifer Walker laid out on a metal table, naked but covered from chest to knees with a sheet. ME Warner was expecting them, knowing that what she put in her notes would be odd enough to bring them out.

Olivia stood over the body as Elliot asked,** "So doc, did you get a time of death?" **

**"Yeah, tricky this time though." **

**"How so?"** Olivia asked.

**"Well usually, lividity, liver temp, and rigor are used to determine time of death but Ms Walker had no blood at all inside her body to establish lividity. No blood also tampers with liver temp and rigor."**

**"So how'd you get a TOD?"** Elliot asked, curious.

**"I said it tampers with the factors, not that it eliminates them. My original estimation was off by 8 hours give or take. Meaning Ms Walker was killed sometime between 3 and 4 am, but the blood was drained while she was dying."**

**"So the blood loss killed her?"** Olivia asked.

**"No, look here."** Warner showed the detectives the eyes of the victim.** "There's petichial hemorrhaging, meaning she was suffocated, as evidenced by the hand marks around her neck but if you note the fracture of her scull right here you'll see that what actually killed her was a combination of the blow to her head and strangulation."** Warner then pointed to the bruises on the victim's neck.

**"Perp went into overkill mode but why drain the blood?"** Elliot asked.

Olivia was staring at the puncture marks on the thigh.** "El, look at this, looks like a bite mark." **

Elliot went over and looked at the marks, they reminded him of the marks left on victims in vampire horror flicks. Elliot knew it was ridiculous but that's what it looked like.

**"Bite mark, yeah it does. Doc, any explanation for those?"** Elliot asked, pointing to the marks.

Warner moved closer to the marks and studied them again. Her mind was coming to the same conclusion Elliot's had-vampire. Or someone pretending to be.** "The only explanation I have is not one I'd care to share." **

**"Why not?"** Olivia asked, having also noticed the similarities to vampire bites.

**"Because it's not based in any medical or scientific fact. Just speculation." **

The three of them looked at each other, silent communication passing between them all. Then Elliot spoke what they all were thinking.

**"Vampire? Or some crackpot who thinks he's a vampire?" **

Warner simply nodded as did Olivia.

**"Just great, perp leave any DNA or other evidence?"** Elliot asked, more grossed out than anything else at the thought of a crackpot out there drinking human blood cuz he thought he was Dracula. Just when he thought he's seen it all in this job, someone comes along with something new.

**"That's another weird thing, he definitely raped her but left nothing anywhere in the body. Not even spermicide or residue from any type of condom."**

**"Ok, that is odd."** Olivia said, **"But maybe he didn't or couldn't finish."**

**"Impotent? That's one explanation but even if all he did was penetrate her there would still be some DNA rubbed off, skin cells. Unless..."**

**"Unless what?"** Elliot asked.

**"Well, unless he used something other than his own equipment."** Warner said, slightly uncomfortable. This case was getting weirder by the minute.

Olivia felt the same way, especially with this new twist of the perp using something else to rape the victim.

Elliot, however, had no problem voicing his thoughts, simply because he'd deal with his emotions later, in private.

**"Something else? Like a dildo?"**

**"That would explain the lack of DNA."** A sudden idea occurred to the ME.** "Give me a few hours and I'll be able to let you know for sure ok?" **

Elliot and Olivia exchanged looks then agreed. They left the ME's office and went back to the squad room to share this new info with Cragen.

_Meanwhile, at the McDonalds on 42nd street..._

Martin and Faith had arrived first and ordered their food and were sitting in a corner booth eating and waiting for Casey to arrive. Casey showed up, ordered a salad and diet coke and joined them. Martin introduced the two ladies and then silence settled in as they ate. When they were done, Casey began the conversation.

**"So, Faith, Martin tells me you've agreed to move in with him, is this true?"**

Faith had decided while she was eating that Casey might be worth getting to know. Despite being from her mother's side of the family, Martin had kept in touch with her so maybe she wasn't as bad as she'd been thinking when Martin first told her about the lunch meeting.

**"Yup. I figured, it wasn't his fault how I grew up so I might as well give him a chance. Besides, he's family ya know?"**

Martin smiled, already growing accustomed to Faith's way of thinking and talking. Casey smiled too.

**"Yeah I know, I still think of him as my uncle. I hope, Faith, that you and I can become friends. I'd really like that."**

Faith thought about it and decided that she could always use a friend. Besides, just like Martin, Casey was family. Faith smiled,** "Yeah, I'd like that too. Only friends I ever had are still in California." **

Casey relaxed, the hard part was more or less over, Faith had agreed to become friends. Casey flashed back to something Olivia had told her, that once people found out exactly what they did for a living, working in sex crimes, they tended to lose interest. Casey decided to test that theory and began looking for a way to work it into the conversation. Faith offered the opening when she asked what Casey did for a living. Casey held nothing back as she explained that she was an ADA for the city of New York in the Sex Crimes Unit, better known as the Special Victims Unit.

Faith hid her surprise well when she found out that Casey worked for the same unit that Olivia did. They must know each other but Faith wasn't going to ask Casey about Olivia. There was something in Casey's tone when she spoke of the only female detective in that unit. Something that made Faith refrain from asking Casey about her.

Lunch lasted just under an hour when Casey got paged. The SVU team needed her for something and she had to go. Faith resisted the urge to offer to walk with her there. Faith had other plans for the detective which didn't involve seeing the inside of a police station just yet.

Instead, Faith gave Casey a hug goodbye and then sat back down with her father, who'd remained quiet throughout the whole conversation.** "You've been very quiet, is something wrong?"**

**"No, nothing wrong. Just, well I'm just glad that you and Casey are getting along. I was worried you might not give her a chance because of her relation to Linda." **

**"Yeah? Well, that's something you haven't learned about me yet, but you will. I don't hold anyone's DNA against them. The way I figure it, you can't choose who you're related to so why should you be held accountable for their actions? So, I'll give Casey a fair shot, just like I'm giving you a fair shot. Make sense?"**

**"Yes it does. Well, I have to get back to the office for a few more hours, you're welcomed to join me there unless you have other plans."**

**"I wanna explore the city actually. Get a feel for the place so that when I patrol I don't get lost or anything ok?"**

**"That's fine. Just a suggestion but, due to the shortage of cemeteries within the city limits you might want to get familiar with Central Park. As evidenced last night, vampires tend to hunt there. Also, I'd like you to have this."** Martin handed her a cell phone.** "It's yours if you need to call anyone, even Buffy in California if you want, ok?" **

**"Thanks Martin. But I don't think I'll be calling B for a while. But I'll carry the phone with me just in case."**

Martin smiled and they left the restaurant together. Martin hailed a cab back to his office and Faith walked to Central Park.

Faith managed to walk all over the park, getting to know every spot and also managing to admire the beauty of it all. From the Bethesda Fountain to Bow Bridge to the Literary Walk, Faith enjoyed it all, but there were moments when she caught herself wishing Buffy could've been there, and other moments when she'd see something and get that sense of deja vu. The times when she'd catch herself thinking about the blond slayer Faith would force herself to focus on something else, anything else to get her out of her mind. Usually, the image that worked best to drive Buffy out of her thoughts, was the face of Olivia Benson. Faith didn't think she could forget that face even if she wanted to try, which she didn't.

Faith pulled out the cell phone that Martin had given her and then took out the slip of paper Kennedy had given her at the airport. As Faith dialed the number to Kennedy's house, she walked slowly around the park, coming to a stop in front of a statue of a dog. Faith was reading the inscription when Kennedy answered the phone.

**"Hello?" **

**"K? That you?" **

**"Faith! Oh wow, didn't expect to hear from you so soon. How are things with your father?" **

**"Going good, he's a nice guy and I learned more things about my mom and what happened all those years ago. It's really a long story. How's the whole meet the parents thing going?"**

**"It's going pretty good. Everyone loves Willow and she's even teaching my dad how to use his computer. He needs serious help there, total technophobe. Willow says she reminds him of Giles only less British."** Kennedy and Faith both laugh at that.

After another ten minutes of catching up, Kennedy asks the big question.** "How's the whole, getting over Buffy thing going? Any luck?"**

Faith had told Kennedy how she felt about the blond slayer on the plane to NY while Willow was in the bathroom. Kennedy had asked at the time why Faith hadn't just come clean with Buffy about her feelings and Faith had confided that she didn't want to risk the rejection. Faith knew Buffy wasn't like that and she'd rather never hear the 'no' than feel the pain of it. Kennedy had understood and then offered her support and her promise not to tell Willow about it. Telling Willow was like telling Buffy and Faith did not want that.

**"Actually, it's going good. I've already met someone who could possibly help me get over her, you know what they say: easiest way to get over the last one is with a new one."**

**"Really? Well tell me about her." **

**"She's older, but not by too much. She's got short dark hair, brown eyes, a killer body and a smile that could make Angel lose his soul. There's only one downside, if you can call it that."**

**"That must be some smile, and what's the downside? Is she straight or something?" **

**"Not sure if she's straight but she definitely spiked the needle on my gaydar in to the red. No, the downside is she's a cop. A detective and she was the cop they called after I was attacked by a vamp my first night here. I dusted him but then she shows up and I have to lie to her about what happened to the guy who was attacking me."**

**"Wow, some first meeting, but I guarantee she won't forget you anytime soon." **

**"Oh that wasn't out first meeting. Well, maybe in terms of exchanging names but I had seen her earlier at the McDonalds during lunch." **

**"Yeah?"** Kennedy was suddenly very interested. Faith was talking about this woman with a tone in her voice that Kennedy almost identified as infatuation. If Faith wasn't careful, she'd end up falling for this woman. Which Kennedy didn't think would be a bad thing, unless Faith came clean about her past. Being a cop, Kennedy doubted this woman would be easily forgiving.

**"Yeah, she sat down two tables away and we kinda flirted with our eyes, which is when I saw that amazing smile. Then she got called away on her cell and she left without so much as a word or anything. Then she shows up just after I dusted a vamp. Talk about awkward meetings."**

**"Tell me about it. Did she say anything then, any indication that she liked you?" **

**"Does handing me her card with her name and work number on one side and her home phone written on the back count?"**

**"No way! She did that?" **

**"Yup, right in front of her partner too, though I don't think he saw her write her number on the back...I did though but you know me, perfect poker face."**

**"Very cool, a definite step in the right direction. So you have her number, you call her yet?" **

**"Nope, you're the first person I've called except for my father." **

**"Aww...now I feel special."** Kennedy teased.** "I think you should call her, sooner rather than later, Faith. Don't let that lady slip through your fingers. You might regret it." **

**"I'll think about it. There is such a thing as appearing too desperate, Miss I had to trick Willow into our first date."**

**"Hey, that was different, we were in that whole don't know how much longer we have to live situation cuz of the First. I didn't have time to play hard to get and let her come to me." **

**"No you didn't, but I do. Doesn't mean I am going to just wait for her either just means that I am not gonna make myself look desperate. Besides, I get the feeling that I'll be seeing more of her soon." **

**"Why's that?"**

**"My cousin, on my mother's side, is a lawyer who works with her. Talk about coincidence huh?" **

**"Very convenient I'll say. Well, I gotta go now Faith, it's time for me to take Willow horseback riding." **

**"Horseback riding? I thought Red was afraid of horses, that's what Xander told me once." **

**"She is, but I am working on getting her over that. Today is her first lesson in getting over her fear. So I can't be late or she'll find a way to hide until dinnertime. Talk to you tomorrow ok?" **

**"Yeah ok K. Tell Red I said hi and I'll call tomorrow. Bye." **

**"Bye Faith." **

Faith closed her cell phone and took a look around, noticing that the park has less people in it. She checked her watch and realized it was already 4:30 in the afternoon. Faith decided to find a spot to rest for a few hours then begin her patrol of the park, suddenly needing to slay something. The talk with Kennedy had helped her to ground herself. It would be easy for Faith to lose herself in her father's lifestyle. To let him just spoil her and become a rich brat, but Faith didn't want that. She finally had learned what it meant to be a slayer, the true meaning and that was more important to Faith now than it ever really was before. She wanted to prove to herself (and to Buffy) that she could do it. That she could be a slayer and fight on the side of good and be everything a slayer was supposed to be.

Talking with Kennedy had reminded her that she wasn't alone, that there were other slayers in the world. More than there'd ever been. Enough that if she needed help she could call for it. Faith also knew that Hellmouths weren't the only places Slayers were needed. New York City had been home to at least one other slayer that Faith knew about...Nikki Wood, Robin's mother. So obviously there were vamps and stuff here too. And Faith made a promise to herself that she would do whatever it took to fight the evil in the world. So, she found a relatively quiet spot in the park, near the Bethesda Fountain, to rest and wait for nightfall.

For some reason, Faith was always drawn to the fountain. There was something about it that seemed very familiar to her. She made a mental note to ask Martin about it later that night.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

It was already morning when Faith arrived back home. She took out her elevator key and rode up to the apartment, leaning against the back wall of the elevator. Surprisingly, Faith had only run into two vamps the whole night. She slayed one but the other one got away. Of course, not before it had realized that this was the Slayer and that she was pissed off. If the vamp was smart he'd tell his buddies to clear outta town.

Faith felt guilty about letting the second vamp get away but the first vamp had slashed her arm with a wicked looking knife and it was bleeding too much to be of much use. Even with Slayer healing it wasn't closing as fast as it should, which made Faith think that the vamp had hit a major vein. Dammit.

With that second vamp free and who knows how many others, it wasn't until the sun began to rise that Faith felt it was safe enough to leave the park. So after tearing a strip of her shirt off to stop the bleeding, Faith continued patrolling Central Park. With the sun up, the vamps would be in hiding for the day. Faith walked into the apartment and was almost through the living room when she noticed her father asleep on the couch. It touched her that he'd been waiting up for her. But at the same time she was nervous about how he'd react to her injury.

Faith quietly made her way into her bedroom and the attached bathroom and began removing the cloth that she'd tied to the wound. Luckily, the bleeding had stopped and the wound was beginning to close up. Hopefully, by noon it wouldn't even be noticeable. Faith cleaned the wound and saw that her father had placed a first aid kit in her medicine cabinet. Faith smiled, it seemed her father had thought of everything. So Faith decided to take a shower first then dress the wound so she wouldn't have to be careful with the bandage.

Martin woke up on the couch shortly after hearing Faith's bedroom door close behind her. When he glanced at the wall clock and realized what time it was, he became concerned. Faith had been out all night, and the only thing Martin could think was that there must've a high number of vampires in the park to keep Faith out all night. And of course that led to him thinking she'd been hurt and was probably bleeding to death in her bedroom having dragged herself home just so he wouldn't worry. By the time Martin's brain had finished jumping to all sorts of conclusions, he was halfway down the hall to Faith's bedroom. That was when the bedroom door opened and Faith walked out, freshly showered and dressed and looking very healthy and not hurt. Martin's face clearly showed his relief, which only made Faith smile wider at the knowledge that he really did care about her.

**"Morning dad."** Faith said without thinking. It just felt natural somehow after seeing how much Martin cared about her to call him dad.

Martin hid his surprised a bit at the word 'dad' and replied, **"Morning Faith. How are you?" **

**"Doing good, a little tired from being up all night, and hungry so I'll get some breakfast then take a nap ok?"**

**"Sounds like a good idea. What would you like for breakfast?" **

**"Got any cereal?" **

**"I think I do, yes. But wouldn't you like something more filling? Like, eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, or pancakes?"**

Faith smiled, he'd just named all her favorite breakfast foods but while Faith enjoyed eating that stuff...she couldn't cook any of it to save her life--except maybe the toast. She'd never had to really, that's what diners were for and Mickey D's.

**"Yeah I would but I can't cook, and it wouldn't be fair to ask you to cook for me when I know you gotta get to work, so I'll just have cereal and juice." **

Martin felt like insisting on cooking breakfast for his daughter but when he saw the look in her eyes he realized it would be a losing battle. She had the same glint in her eyes that her mother used to get when she had made up her mind about something and wouldn't be swayed. Linda had had that glint in her eye the day she told Martin that she was taking Faith to Boston to be trained. Martin closed off that road of thought and simply nodded to Faith.

**"You know that it would be no bother at all to make breakfast for you, I mean I own the company I can be late if I want to be but I also know that you don't need me hovering over you. So I'll let you have what you want for breakfast and go get ready for work." **

**"Cool."** Faith was half expecting him to insist on cooking and she was too tired to fight him right now so she was surprised when he backed down and didn't push the issue.

Martin turned and went into his bedroom which had its own bathroom and began preparing for work.

Faith went into the kitchen and looked around for the cereal and a bowl and milk. Faith was on her fourth bowl of Frosted Flakes when Martin came into the kitchen to say goodbye. Faith said goodbye and walked him to the elevator. After Martin left for work, Faith finished her fourth bowl and after washing up, she went to take a nap.

_Meanwhile at the 16th Precint's SVU Squad Room..._

After a night filled with weird dreams of vampires--like Dracula and Lestat--and then outta nowhere Faith was there too, Olivia came into work looking like she hadn't slept at all. She rationalized that the vampire images were caused by what Warner had told them but what she couldn't figure out was why in her dream, Faith was fighting Dracula and Lestat...and winning! It was definitely a weird dream and one that would get locked away in her mind forever cuz she'd never tell anyone about it. They'd think she was crazy...and maybe she was if her dreams were anything to go by that is.

**"Hey Liv, what's up?"** Her partner Elliot Stabler asked as he walked in two minutes after her and saw her sitting at her desk staring into space.

Olivia snapped out of her daze and looked up at Elliot.** "What? Oh nothing, just thinking." **

**"About what?"**

**"Things...this case. The bite mark on the victim's leg, maybe there's some merit to the vampire theory."** Olivia regretted that statement as soon as she said it and saw the look on Elliot's face.

**"A vampire? Never figured you'd ever think that. I mean, I'd expect it from Munch maybe but not you." **

Olivia knew she should probably let the subject drop but something made her keep going. **"I'm not saying a real vampire cuz that's just nuts but what about someone who's read too many Anne Rice novels and now thinks he is a vampire? I mean, it wouldn't explain the rape but it would explain how she was killed ya know?"**

Elliot stopped to think about it and as he was doing that, Casey Novak walked in and went right up to their desks.** "Olivia, Elliot, anything new on the Walker case?" **

Olivia was the one who answered her,** "A few things but nothing that might point to a suspect." **

**"What new things have come up?" **

Olivia was about to explain when Munch walked into the squad room. She knew that if he heard about the bite marks there'd be no way to shut him up about vampire myths and legends. So Olivia led Casey into one of the interview rooms to explain.

Once the door shut behind them, Elliot kept Munch distracted to prevent him from tryin to eavesdrop or anything.

Olivia and Casey sat down and Olivia explained about what Warner had told them. When she got to the bite mark, Casey's eyes went wide with disbelief.

**"Wait a minute, you're telling me a vampire killed her?"** The half incredulous, half mocking tone in Casey's voice pissed Olivia off and the rest of the conversation was reduced to either screaming or silences. Olivia was really trying to get along with Casey, if for no other reason than they had to work together almost everyday, but times like these made it a lot harder for Olivia to take Casey seriously.

Casey was a bit too quick to dismiss the 'vampire' theory (even the theory that it was a human who thought they were a vampire) before Olivia could explain that she was only speculating about that part. Jennifer Walker was definitely killed by the blow to the head combined with strangulation. The bite mark and loss of blood certainly didn't help but they didn't kill her.

Casey left shortly after their 'chat' and went to the courthouse for her arraignments, motions, and trials. And, of course, the seemingly endless amounts of paperwork that went with this job.

The morning passed uneventfully as Benson and Stabler tracked down Jennifer Walker's next of kin-her parents-and did the notification. They also managed to get a list of Jennifer's friends from Hudson University as well as the name of her current boyfriend.

After a brief lunch of hot dogs from a street vendor and sodas, the detectives ran down the list of friends and the boyfriend to see if they could possibly pinpoint a suspect.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 **

The SVU squad was comin up empty on every lead they tried to follow regarding the Walker case. And to add insult to injury, two more deaths had taken place in the last five days. Both with the same MO as the Walker case. Same method of death by strangulation and blunt force trauma, same evidence of sexual trauma, same puncture marks on the same thigh in the exact same spot. Cragen had pulled Munch and Fin onto the case to assist Elliot and Olivia. Once Munch saw the puncture marks there was no shutting him up about vampires and their habits. It was Munch who pointed out the possible significance of the three murders happening at night.

The four detectives and Cragen were in the squadroom looking at the white board which held the visual evidence they'd gathered so far. Elliot was the first to speak after a long silence.

**"Jennifer Walker, 25, blonde hair, brown eyes, student at Hudson University studying 17th Century Literature. She was the first victim. Then there's Lacie Jones, 23, red hair, blue eyes, worked at a coffee shop near the University while working on her BA in Education. She was the second victim. And finally there's Marcia Swindler, 19, brown hair, green eyes, freshman at Hudson undeclared major. She's the third victim and hopefully the last if we can catch this guy before he strikes again. Besides being all females under 30, the only other common thread was the school."**

**"Yeah but these girls didn't even know each other."** Fin chimed in.

**"Yeah but Hudson's a big campus, it's not that unusual that they didn't know each other."** Olivia reasoned.

**"Ok, but am I the only one seeing the unlikeliness that these girls were chosen at random?"** Munch asked.

**"What do you mean John?"** Cragen asked.

**"I mean, maybe the perp knew them all. Maybe he stalked them and if he did that means-"**

**"That there's something else that they have in common. Something we're not seeing."** Elliot finished, catching on to what Munch was saying.

**"Bingo."** Munch agreed.

**"So what's the connection?"**

No one could say for sure. So they all sat there staring at the evidence.

_In Casey Novak's office..._

Casey sat behind her desk and tried to process what her cousin Faith was telling her.

Faith sat in the chair across from Casey's desk, hoping she'd made the right decision. After some serious thinking, and a conversation with Willow and Giles, Faith had decided to tell Casey about her calling. Her father knew and Faith felt that Casey should know so that she wouldn't have to lie to her about what she did at night. Lies were not something to base a friendship on and Faith wanted her and Casey to be friends and the only right way to do that was to be honest.

Faith had decided the best place to tell Casey the truth would be her office, a place where Casey was comfortable and felt safe. So Faith had made an appointment to have an hour of her cousin's time just to make sure they had the time to talk.

**"So...what you're telling me is that vampires are real?"**

**"Yup." **

**"And you are...what was the word you used?"**

**"A slayer."**

**"A slayer...what exactly does that mean?"** Casey asked still confused and trying to get it clear.

**"A slayer is a chosen one destined to fight and kill vampires, demons and other supernatural bad guys. Everything you didn't think was real, is real."**

**"Everything? Really?"**

**"Yup, vampires, demons, werewolves, witches, seers, magick, it's all real."**

**"Wow...um... I'm gonna need some time to process all this."**

**"Take all the time you need, I am just glad you're not calling a psych hospital to take me in, ya know?"**

**"Faith, I don't think you're crazy. This isn't something I'd advertise but, I grew up listening to my mom talk about your mom to my dad and she would sometimes use words like Watcher's Council and slayers. She never knew I was listening and at the time I didn't know what she meant but...I guess I do now huh?"**

**"Your mom knew about watchers and slayers?"**

**"Yeah, I heard her say once that she almost became a watcher but that she failed the test."**

**"Test? Interesting, so...you gonna be ok with all this?"**

Casey thought about it, then said,** "yeah, I am. Don't worry Faith your secret's safe with me. Besides, I think I might be able to use your help with something."**

**"Really? Help with what?"** Faith asked a little warily. She didn't know how she could possibly help Casey but she was willing to try.

**"This case that my SVU detectives are working on right now."**

**"Why do you think I can help?"**

Faith sat back in her chair as she listened to Casey tell her how she thought Faith could help with the investigation.

_Meanwhile back at the 16th..._

The detectives were staring at the board trying to figure out the connection when Warner walked in waving a folder. The look on the medical examiner's face was a perfect example of smug confusion. As she reached the group of SVU detectives she noticed the air of frustrated confusion around them and smiled. She smiled because the information she had, while very confusing might also provide a new lead to find the 'Co-ed Killer' as he was being dubbed in the media. Cragen was the first to notice the doc.

**"Hey Doc, what brings you down here?"**

Melinda Warner held up the folder in her hand and said,**"I got some information you all might be interested in hearing."**

**"What you got?"** Fin asked, curious but a little wary as well. Seemed every potential lead they got led to a dead end.

**"After I finished the autopsy on Marcia Swindler I noticed something different. Your killer is getting sloppy."**

**"How so?"**

**"There was saliva all over the puncture wound on the thigh. So I took a sample and ran it through the system...and I got a hit."**

**"A hit? To what?"** Olivia asked, puzzled.

Warner hesitated a bit, this was where it got weird.** "On that note there's good, bad and weird news. Which do you all want first?"**

**"We could all use a little good news here so let's start with that."** Cragen answered, too weary to even be impatient anymore, besides there was very little he could ever deny Ms Warner. He was lucky that he'd managed to keep his crush under wraps. Long decades as a cop had taught him to hide his emotions but still... they were always there.

Melinda smiled a little at Cragen, then addressed the other four detectives. **"Well the good news is that the saliva was a match to DNA left in an old case."**

**"Which case?"** Elliot asked.

**"Um...the Woodson case."** Melinda stated quietly, cuz she knew that the weird news was coming next.

It took the detectives a few minutes to remember the case Warner was referring to, it was Elliot who remembered first. The Woodson case had really affected him. **"Woodson...Natalie Woodson, 25 year old student at Hudson University right? She was found raped and murdered her throat was slashed."**

**"Yup, that's the case."**

**"But that doesn't track, Natalie Woodson was raped and her throat was slashed, there was no other evidence of trauma. No bruises, no puncture wounds, nothing that matches this current case."**

**"Plus we caught Natalie's killer, David Morgan, and he's still in Sing Sing serving a life sentence."** Elliot added, remembering the details of the case.

Munch spoke up, **"So how did his saliva make it onto this victim?"**

**"It didn't."** Melinda said.

**"What?"** Somehow all five of them managed to speak at once the one word on all their minds...it was like being questioned in surround sound.

**"Doc I think you'd better explain."**

**"I said the saliva matched DNA from the Woodson case but I never said it was Morgan's DNA. The DNA belonged to the victim in that case. Natalie Woodson."**

Silence followed for a few minutes as they all tried to process this new information.** "Now, was that the weird news?"** Elliot asked, a little skeptical.

**"No, that was the bad news...though maybe bad is the wrong word but anyway the weird news is what I managed to uncover about the body of Natalie Woodson."**

**"I'm afraid to ask."** Fin said, half sarcastic half serious. He knew it wasn't gonna be anything good or normal.

**"According to my predecessor, the family insisted on no autopsy and got a court to release the body for burial within 24 hours of discovery of the body. So I looked up the family and the only remaining member is Robert Woodson, the brother. I figured it might be worth it to talk to him so I wrote down his address."** Warner handed a card with the name, address and phone number of Robert Woodson to Cragen. He looked it over and made a decision.

**"Well any lead is worth following I guess, so Elliot and Olivia go talk to Mr Woodson. Munch and Fin take a ride up to Sing Sing and talk to David Morgan see if you can get him to talk about his crime."**

**"We're on it Cap! Let's go guys."** Elliot took charge and soon the four SVU detectives were out the door headed off to track down their leads.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 **

_Apartment of Robert Woodson_

**"I'm not sure how I can help you Detectives I mean, I was only a kid back then."** Robert Woodson stated as he led the detectives into his living room and they all sat down.** "My sister was murdered ten years ago, her killer was caught and sent to jail, why are you asking about it now?"**

Olivia spoke first, **"Mr. Woodson, I realize it may be painful to talk about Natalie after so long but we need to know if there's anything you remember that was... out of the ordinary after Natalie was killed."**

**"Like what?"** Robert asked, a small almost undetectable tic twitching in his right eyelid.

**"You know, it could be anything. Something that at the time wasn't worth mentioning. Just, anything you could help us out with would be helpful."** Elliot explained, trying to put Robert at ease.

Olivia had noticed the tic but decided not to mention it, until it was necessary anyway.

Robert was silent for a while, thinking back over the years to that dark time after his sister was found raped and murdered. He'd been only fifteen back then but he was smart enough to know what was going on and his parents hadn't tried to really shield him from it all. Robert's eyes became unfocused as he retreated into his memories, his voice was strangely flat as he spoke,** "My sister was a smart, beautiful young woman detectives. She had her whole life ahead of her. She wanted to be a doctor, to help people and then that bastard she was dating went and killed her. Not a day goes by that I don't think about what happened to Natalie, that I don't wonder what her final moments must've been like as she lay there dying. The day David Morgan was found guilty of killing her, I was sitting in the courtroom and I stared into his eyes and the...emptiness I found there disturbed me."** Robert Woodson brought himself back to the present with a slight shake of his head and smiled briefly,** "That look in his eyes haunts me to this day." **

**"Why's that?"** Elliot asked, curious.

**"Because it looked like he had given up, almost as if he had stopped trying to convince everyone that he was innocent and just accepted that he was guilty." **

**"Mr. Woodson, after Natalie was buried did you ever visit her?"** Olivia asked quietly.

**"Yes I did, once maybe twice a week. Natalie and I were close despite the age difference. I loved my sister and her death hit me pretty hard. I ended up in therapy for a year to cope with losing her." **

The detectives nodded in understanding. When it seemed as though they might not get anymore out of Mr Woodson, they rose to leave.

**"Well, thank you for your time Mr Woodson. We'll be in touch." **

**"Wait, you never answered my question, why are you asking about Natalie after all these years?" **

Benson and Stabler exchanged a look and decided there was no harm in telling the truth.** "Mr. Woodson, as strange as this is going to sound, your sister's DNA was found on the body of a current murder victim."**

**"What? How is that even possible? She's been dead for ten years!" **

**"We know that, what we don't know is how it ended up there but the DNA test was unmistakable. Right now, we're following any lead we can get to find the killer. I'm sorry for opening old wounds. Good day Mr. Woodson."** Elliot said as he and Olivia made it to the door. Just before they were through the door and onto the stoop, Robert spoke again.

**"There is one more thing detectives, a couple of days after Natalie was buried I went to her grave to visit her and the dirt was displaced, like someone had tried to dig her up but stopped before they got too far. I didn't think it was anything major because the hole wasn't too deep so I replaced the dirt and patted it down and left. I never told anyone about that, not even my parents because it didn't seem worth mentioning, somehow it does now. I don't know if that helps you out or not but I had to tell you." **

**"Ok, thank you Mr. Woodson."** With that the two detectives left and Mr. Woodson closed and locked his door.

_Meanwhile at Sing Sing..._

**"How many times I gotta tell you stupid cops, I did not kill Natalie! I loved her and I had asked her to marry me the day she was killed, in the morning and she said yes. Why would I kill her?"**

**"You were already convicted of raping and killing her, we're not here about that." **

**"No? Then why are you here?"** David Morgan asked Detectives Munch and Fin as they sat across from each other in the interview room. David had spent the last ten years in prison for a crime he didn't commit and he still had at least fifteen more years before he could hope for parole, he had nothing left to hold on to but the memory of Natalie and her love.

**"You were out on bail when Natalie was buried, you ever go to visit her grave before you got sent in?"** Fin asked.

**"Yeah, once. A few days after the funeral, I wanted to be sure that her family wasn't gonna be around. Didn't wanna cause them any pain by seeing me there, why?" **

**"Did you notice anything strange or off about Natalie's grave?"** Munch asked, working on his own theory.

**"Like what?" **

**"Like, maybe a disturbance around the grave? A hole or maybe the dirt was moved?"** Much asked as casually as he could. Fin just kept his mouth shut as he allowed Munch to take the lead, not knowing where he was going with this question but trusting his partner to at least have a point.

David Morgan thought back to that day he went to the grave,** "now that you mention it, yeah there was a hole. Not very deep but it didn't seem important...but there was one thing that seemed really strange to me." **

**"What's that?" **

**"On the stone, just above Natalie's name was a handprint. It was made in dirt and smudged, looked like someone had gripped the stone, like for support as they stood up or something. I didn't think it was right so I wiped it off then left." **

**"What time were you at the grave?" **

**"Early, like maybe 6:30 in the morning." **

**"Why'd you visit her grave?" **

**"To say goodbye. Look, I didn't kill Natalie. I loved her and she loved me." **

**"Your DNA was found in the rape kit the lab did. You had no alibi and a witness placed the two of you together just hours before her body was found. You were the last one to see her alive." **

**"I didn't kill Natalie! My DNA was on her because we'd just finished celebrating our engagement. We'd spent the whole day in my apartment making love. We went out for dinner around 9pm and when we left the restaurant I told her to wait on the sidewalk while I went to get the car. By the time I got back to the restaurant to pick her up she was gone." **

**"Why'd you make her wait? Why not just walk together to the car?" **

**"Natalie was tired, it was late and she was practically asleep on her feet. I didn't have the heart to make her walk three blocks to the car when I could just go get it and bring it to her. Besides, she told me to go get the car, that she wasn't going to be able to walk back to it. I know I shouldn't have left her alone like that but I thought she'd be okay in front of the restaurant. It only took me five minutes to get the car and get back there." **

**"Five minutes? Are you sure about that?" **

**"Positive, I checked my watch as I was running towards the car and when I got back and couldn't find Natalie I checked it again, only five minutes had passed."** David Morgan noticed the disbelieving looks the detectives exchanged.** "Hey, I did not kill Natalie! And I am done talking to you two."** David walked over to the bars and called for the C.O to take him back to his cell.

After David Morgan was gone Munch and Fin walked out to their car and drove back to Manhattan. They were eager to share the conversation with the others and see what came of it. The ride back was silent despite Fin's curiosity over the way Munch asked about the grave. He knew his partner would reveal his motives as soon as they were all together, John Munch hated having to repeat himself.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

Faith sat in her cousin Casey's living room waiting for Casey to finish changing. After explaining to Faith how she thought Faith could help her and the cops out, Casey had suggested they go to her house to review the files. Mainly because if her bosses walked into her office and caught her showing Faith the case files, she'd be in way too much trouble. Faith had agreed and now here they were. They'd gotten to Casey's apartment and Casey had told Faith to wait in the living room while she changed into some sweats. Casey walked out of her bedroom and into the kitchen to get two beers. Then she walked into the living room, all the while talking to Faith.

**"Hey Faith, you're old enough to drink right? Is beer alright?" **

**"Yes to both questions C." **

**"Good, cuz beer's all I got, here ya go."** Casey handed Faith a beer as she came into the living room holding the files she wanted Faith to look at. Casey waited until Faith took a drink before handing over the files. **"These are the files on the three murders we've had so far." **

**"Is this everything?" **

**"Yeah, I get all the information so that I can know the case for when it's time to deal with a suspect. It's all in there, even the ME's reports." **

**"Cool, not sure if anything's gonna make sense here to me but I'll give it a try."** Faith turned to the files and spread them on the coffee table, reading each file from beginning to end, occasionally stopping to ask Casey for clarification on the legal terms and other things.

After three hours, Faith felt she had a handle on the legal side of things. She turned her complete attention to the ME's reports and that's where she saw something she didn't think she'd ever see again. Full color photographs of the three dead girls and everything that had happened to them. The bruises, the cuts, and the bite marks. The bite marks were what got Faith's attention. They were perfect examples of vampire bites. Faith knew without a doubt that these girls were killed by a vampire. What she didn't get was why they weren't turned.

Casey noticed Faith studying the photos of the bite marks more closely than the others, she knew they were important to her. **"Faith, what is it?" **

**"These marks on the thighs..."**

**"What about them?" **

**"They're bite marks, from a vampire Casey."** Faith looked up into Casey's eyes and saw the doubt there. **"Casey, I know bite marks, I've seen more than my share and these are definitely from a vampire. What I don't understand is why the vampire didn't turn them."**

**"Turn them? What's that mean?" **

**"It means to make them into vampires. Some vampires kill just to feed and some kill to make more of their kind. Usually to make a companion." **

**"A companion?" **

**"Yeah, you know, someone to share eternity with, to either end the loneliness or share in the slaughter of innocents."**

Casey visibly paled at the mention of slaughtering innocents.

**"You sure you wanna hear this?" **

**"Yeah, just...never mind. I need another beer, you want one?" **

**"Sure."** Faith watched Casey leave the room and decided that she didn't need to know the gory specifics. This wasn't her world but it had touched Casey's life by dropping three dead girls in her lap and Faith was determined to find and dust the vampire.

Casey took a moment in the kitchen to regain her composure before going back into the living room. She had a feeling that Faith might try to 'protect' her from the ...darker aspects of her slaying. Casey wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be protected from it.

When Casey returned to the living room Faith decided to change the subject and suggested dinner. Casey agreed and they ordered a pizza and then settled in to watch some movies. They were halfway through The New Guy when the pizza arrived. When the pizza was done, Faith noticed it was getting dark out and realized she needed to be out there...patrolling and hunting for this vampire who'd invaded her cousin's life.

Faith made her excuses and left as soon as the movie was over. She walked the streets, using her slayer senses to seek out any undead activity. She walked up one street and down another searching for any hint of her prey but found nothing for the first two hours. It wasn't until Faith reached East 34th and 10th that her slayer senses began to tingle. She walked the length of 10th Ave between E 34th and E 35th and halfway down, she spotted it. It was a door like any other door, simple and painted black to match the building's exterior. Anyone else would have walked right past it without a second thought it was so plain. But Faith was a Slayer and her slayer senses were telling her there was a vampire behind that door. Faith looked around and noticed a small sign next to the door so she stepped closer to read it. The sign stated that the door led to a place called,_ AB Negative_. Faith smiled, thinking it was a cute name for what she suspected was a vampire wannabe club. Faith would have written the whole place off if she hadn't sensed a real vampire behind the door. Faith knew that with her pale skin and tight leather clothes she could pass for a vamp wannabe if she wanted to, so she knocked on the door and took a deep breath. The door was opened by a tall, pale white guy with even paler grey eyes that Faith noticed were the result of contact lenses. He was human. He wore all black clothes and had blood red lips that when he smiled revealed small, neat fangs that Faith automatically knew were fakes. He so didn't scare her, but he wanted to because he didn't recognize her as a regular.

**"May I help you?"** The guy asked, his voice polite but cold.

**"Yeah you can let me in."** Faith answered in a voice that matched his in coldness but not politeness, Faith never was the polite type.

The guy just smiled. He looked her over and decided she was probably an innocent looking for a walk on the wild side. She seemed harmless so he stepped aside and let her in. The girl walked past him and looked around the room as if hunting. He recognized the look on her face, this one was a hunter. She would be prey for no one and he found he liked that about her.

**"Who are you?"** The guy asked, curious.

Faith turned to look at the guy and had to fight not to laugh. For all the effort he made to appear sinister and aloof, this guy was just like any other guy in the world, always looking to score. Faith was used to using guys like him and them tossing them away. But tonight she wasn't in the mood.** "Who I am isn't important. So don't ask again. Goodbye."** With that, Faith walked further into the club and soon lost the guy. She had better things to do than waste time with a human guy on the make. She had sensed a real vampire here among the fakes and she needed to find him...or her.

Faith was walking through the club, she'd gone to the bar but soon realized all they served was Bloody Mary's minus the blood. It was all fake. An illusion that these fake wannabes clung to in order to keep pretending they were 'children of the night'. Faith found it funny and sad at the same time. She was making her way towards the back when her senses picked up the vampire again. Faith never lost the look of a hunter on her face as she scanned the crowd and when she found the vampire she almost smiled.

The vampire, a female, was sitting at a table surrounded by what could only be called followers. They had looks of worship on their faces as they stared at her. Each person at the table had a drink in front of them, red liquid in the glasses. To a casual observer it looked like they were five vampires enjoying a round of blood but Faith knew better. She scanned the crowd around the table with her eyes and saw they were fairly secluded. She walked up to the table and stood in front of the obvious leader, the real vampire. She got the feeling the others didn't know they had a real vamp in their midst. Faith and the vampire locked eyes and Faith deliberately sent a silent message for the vampire to speak in private. The vampire caught on quick and sent the others away. Reluctantly, they left and Faith was alone with the vampire.

**"You're not from around here are you?"** The vampire asked, calm and relaxed. She had nothing to fear. And she was intrigued by this obvious newcomer.

**"Not really, just got to town a few days ago. Can I ask you a question?" **

**"Sure." **

**"Why do you socialize with mortals? You could drain the blood of everyone in this room yet you choose to, what, hang out with them? Why?" **

The vampire just smiled,** "Not all humans are worth killing and not all vampires are mindless killing machines. Now can I ask you something?"**

**"Fair is fair I suppose." **

**"How'd you know that I was the real deal? There must be more than one human in here who could pass for the real deal. How'd you single me out?" **

**"Every other person in this room reeks with the fragility of a human. You don't, you possess the inherent confidence and strength that only exists in vampires." **

**"If it only exists in vampires, how come I sense it in you? I know you're not human, well not entirely." **

**"Dunno, maybe you're projecting? Or maybe,"** Faith leaned down close to the vamp's face and whispered, **"I'm the slayer."** The smile on Faith's face was a deliberate attempt to undercut her confession. Faith wanted to test this vamp's intelligence. To see if she could tell the truth from a bluff.

The vamp looked into the girl's eyes and saw the truth in them. This girl was the slayer. She knew she should probably be afraid, certain that most vamps when faced with a slayer either peed their pants or fought until they got dusted. She had no intention of doing either. She was not afraid of the slayer, she hadn't chosen to become a vampire and if the slayer was what it took to end her torment then so be it but she wouldn't go down without telling someone the truth, someone who mattered. Someone who could probably help her and until she found that someone then she'd keep 'living'.

**"So you're the slayer? Interesting, what brings you here to New York?" **

**"Change of scenery. Since you're the first vampire I've met who wasn't interesting in trying to kill me you think we could talk seriously for a bit?" **

**"What makes you think I'm not interested in killing you?"** The vamp asked with a smile, the girl was right she had no interest in killing the slayer, or trying to, but she was curious how the slayer knew this.

**"If you were, we'd be fighting by now. The fact that you didn't even flinch when I told you I was the slayer tells me you have another plan, and killing me isn't a part of it. Before you start the usual vamp hype talk, let me assure you that I am not a rookie here. I'm sure you've heard of the battle in Sunnydale, California yes?"**

**"Yeah what about it?" **

**"I was there...I was on the team that scrunched the First Evil and I walked away with only a few scratches. You think about that then decide if you wanna help me or if you wanna fit into an ashtray."** Faith stood there as the vamp thought about it. The battle in Sunnydale was a legend among the underworld. Every evil thing in the world had 'felt' the outcome and when confirmation came through the usual whispered rumors, the slayers involved became even more frightening. Faith had found that out in LA when she'd gone out on patrol shortly after the letter from her father arrived and one of the vamps had told her about it before she dusted him. Faith noticed that the vamp's eyes gave her thoughts away as she thought it over.

Finally the vamp came to a decision.** "Ok Slayer, I'll cooperate. What do you wanna know?" **

**"First and foremost, your name." **

The vampire laughed,** "Which one? My human name or the one I adopted after I was turned?" **

**"You pick." **

**"Lucky. Because to survive what I have takes luck and quick thinking. Is there a name I can call you by, or would you prefer Slayer?"**

**"Slayer will do for now, Lucky. Maybe we should go somewhere more private, wouldn't wanna blow your cover here among the wannabes."**

Lucky's game face flashed so quickly that if Faith hadn't been watching her face she would've missed it.** "They are not wannabes. They are just lonely kids who need to feel like they belong somewhere. There's a room in the back we can use. This way."** Lucky stood up and led Faith to a back room that afforded privacy.

Faith was on high alert as she walked into the room behind Lucky but nothing happened. Lucky sat down on one of the two chairs in the room and indicated to Faith that she should sit in the other chair. Faith looked around the room. It was pretty average as far as back rooms go. Just four walls painted a muted red and a black rug on the floor. There were no windows and a second door stood at the far end. Faith watched it for a minute before glancing at the chairs. They were armchairs, plush leather things that looked comfortable enough to sleep in if need be. Faith cautiously walked over to the empty chair and took another look around as she sat down facing Lucky. The vampire just smiled.

Lucky had been watching the slayer's inspection of the room with undisguised curiosity. She knew the slayer was suspicious and she wasn't surprised. But she had no intention of harming the slayer. Truth be told, Lucky admired her for seeking her out.

**"You can relax slayer, no harm will come to you here. I have no intention of fighting you. You wanted to talk in private so here we are." **

**"No one's gonna come bursting in here wanting to use the room or anything?" **

**"Nope, I own this place Slayer, I have for almost five years. No one comes back here ever. That door over there leads to my apartment. You can relax we're totally alone. All the privacy you could want. Now, what did you want to know from me?"**

**"When's the last time you fed?" **

**"You mean real human blood straight from the body? A few days ago." **

**"A few days ago?" **

**"Yeah, but I didn't kill her. There are a few humans I trust who trust me, they let me drink a pint from their arms in exchange for the rush it gives them, that and some money." **

**"You pay them for their blood? Why?" **

**"You mean why not just drain them dry and kill them?" **

**"Yeah." **

**"It's easier this way. Leaves less bodies for the cops to find. But I also drink pig's blood from a local butcher who sells me his excess blood. He knows I run this club and he thinks I use it for the drinks at the bar. I don't bother to correct him. Now what's this all about?"**

**"Three girls were murdered and it looks like a human did it but there's vampire bites on their thighs. My theory is a vamp did it and covered it to look like a human killer."** Faith noticed a faint tremor run through Lucky's right eyelid, so quick and small it almost went unnoticed by Faith...almost.**"You know anything about that Lucky?"**

**"Maybe." **

**"Maybe?"**

**"Look, all I know is that whoever did it is done. Point proven and now it's time to retire." **

**"What do you mean 'point proven'? What point?" **

**"All I can tell you is that the vamp that did this is done. There won't be anymore killings as long as the university keeps those dorms empty." **

**"Dorms? What dorms?" **

**"Your three victims, they all went to Hudson University. All lived in different rooms of the same dorm building. Tell your cop buddies to tell the school to keep those rooms empty if they wanna stop the killings. The vamp won't strike if the rooms are empty." **

**"How do you know this?" **

**"I just know. That's all I got for you for now, the sun's almost up and I need my sleep. I trust you can find your own way out Slayer?" **

**"Yeah, would it be alright if I came back tomorrow night?" **

**"Of course, as long as you come alone and without a stake. You come in peace or don't come at all Slayer. Like I said I have no intention of fighting you." **

**"Ok, can I ask one last thing?" **

**"Sure." **

**"Do you know the name of the vamp who sired you?" **

**"Didn't until after I rose, he was there waiting for me. He had a stake and was going to dust me but he stopped himself at the last minute. I never found out why he stopped but I know why he tried to kill me. He never intended to kill me much less turn me. There was such remorse on his face that I almost cried for him. His name was Angelus. After that night though, I never saw him again. Why?"**

**"Angelus? Are you sure he's the one who turned you?" **

**"Positive, why?" **

**"Just wondering...see you tomorrow night." **

**"See you Slayer...sleep well."**

**"You too, goodbye." **

**"Goodbye." **

Faith left the room and walked through the empty club not even noticing that there was no one left in the club. Faith stepped out into the predawn and headed for home. Faith's mind was reeling with the information she'd learned about the murders but what was messing with her the most was the news about Angelus. Ten years ago, Angel was in New York and then in Sunnydale. It was possible that he was here to sire Lucky. But Faith couldn't understand why he would do that if he had his soul. She needed to talk to someone who knew Angel a little bit better, someone who'd known him during that first year when he was in Sunnydale. Buffy wasn't an option right now but Willow would know. Faith decided to call the number Kennedy left as soon as it was early enough to call without waking up the whole house.

Faith made it home just as the sun was starting to rise over the skyscrapers and she leaned against the wall of the elevator as it took her to the penthouse. She was tired but could still function for a while. At least enough to make sure her father knew she was ok. The elevator doors opened and Faith stepped out into the foyer and made her way into the living room. Her father was in his usual place on the couch just like he was every night that Faith was out of the house. She always found him there and it never failed to warm her heart to know he cared. Faith gently shook him awake.

**"Dad, dad wake up it's me Faith."** Faith had begun calling him dad more and more and now it was just natural, as if she'd known him her whole life.

Martin woke up and saw Faith leaning over him and smiled, glad she was ok. He got up and after mumbling a good morning he went back to his own room and, because it was a Saturday, went right back to sleep. Faith just smiled as she watched him go back to his room. Being a Saturday, Faith knew he didn't work so she figured he'd sleep a little more then be up and about making breakfast. Faith went to her room and took a long hot shower before crawling into her own bed and falling asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 **

Friday afternoon, after their respective visits to Robert Woodson and David Morgan, the SVU squad gathered in the squadroom to compare notes. While everyone agreed that there wasn't much worth following, there was one detail Munch insisted was noteworthy. Both men had mentioned the displaced dirt on the grave a few days after Natalie Woodson was buried. The only difference was the hand print that Morgan saw which he said he'd wiped off. Despite the strangeness of it, they dismissed it as unimportant and once again found themselves with nothing to go on.

Saturday morning, only Olivia was in the squadroom, having pulled the morning on call shift, when Casey walked in for an update on the case. She wanted to know anything new that she could pass on to Faith and see if it made sense to her. When Casey walked in and found only Olivia she almost turned around and left, not really in the mood for an icy reception or another fight. Then she remembered that Faith might be the only one who could solve this case and she straightened her spine and walked up to Olivia's desk where the detective was engrossed in a book she was reading.

**"Good morning Detective." **

Olivia looked up at the ADA and fought against a frown as she closed the book she was reading. She wasn't in the mood right now, especially after the dreams she'd had last night...a recurring dream of Dracula and Faith fighting. Which automatically made her think of Faith and wonder if she'd ever see her again. Taken together that did not make for a happy Olivia but she tried hard not to take it out on Casey, wasn't her fault anyway that Olivia's subconscious decided to have some fun with her. **"Hey Casey, what brings you here on a Saturday morning?" **

**"I was wondering if there was any new information in the Coed Killer case. Anything that might point to a suspect?"** Casey asked, a bit hopeful. She didn't know though if she wanted them to find the killer or not cuz she didn't know if they could handle it if it was a vampire. That was when she noticed the book Olivia was reading, _Vampyres: 1025AD to Present Day_. **"A little light reading detective?"**

Olivia noticed that Casey had seen the title of the book she'd bought a few days after the dreams had started. She still didn't know why she'd bought it but it was a fascinating read if you could take it seriously enough to believe it.** "Something like that, needed something to make the time on a Saturday morning on call go by faster. As for the case there's been a new development if you have time to go over it."**

**"I got all morning. Then lunch with my cousin. What's the new information?"** If Casey was surprised by Olivia's willingness to talk about the case, she didn't show it. She knew better than to question the good things.

Olivia put her book aside and went over what they'd found out from Warner about the saliva and then the information gathered from the interviews. By the end of it all the prosecutor in Casey knew they didn't have much to go on but the rest of Casey knew that Faith might make more sense out of this than she could. Casey filed all the information away in her memory to tell Faith about it at lunch.

**"So you're gonna have lunch with your cousin? I think this is the first time you've ever mentioned any family, what's your cousin like?"** Olivia didn't know why she'd asked but she did know that she was actually enjoying talking to Casey. She couldn't explain it but maybe her subconscious was finally starting to accept Casey.

**"She's...different. Younger but she seems older than her years. Probably because she had to grow up fast. From what my uncle tells me, my aunt didn't make growing up easy for her. But that's in the past and I think she's starting to realize that not all family is evil ya know?"**

**"Evil? I take it her parents are divorced?"**

**"Yeah, since she was three. Never knew her dad until a few weeks ago." **

**"This cousin got a name?" **

**"Yeah, sorry, Faith." **

That got Olivia's attention. Casey's cousin name was Faith? It seemed too coincidental to be an accident but she wanted to be sure.** "Faith? About five foot five with dark hair, dark eyes and pale skin?" **

**"Yeah that's her, why? You know her?" **

**"Something like that, she was attacked a few weeks ago and they called us in to investigate. Faith fought the guy off and he was gone by the time we got there. She didn't really seem concerned about catching him and then Cragen gets a mysterious phone call and the whole case is dropped. By that time victim number two in the Coed Killer case was found, and I forgot all about it. Do you know anything about that?"** Olivia asked suddenly suspicious. The cousin of an SVU ADA is attacked and the next day Cragen's ordered to drop the investigation. Seemed too neat now.

Casey had no clue however, she was just hearing about the attack now but she did know better than to over react.** "Nope, sorry detective, this is the first I am hearing of any attack on Faith. She's never brought it up with me."** Although, now that Casey thought about it, it was more likely that Faith's attacker was a vampire and she'd slayed it. Naturally, after that, there was no point in letting the cops chase their tales looking for the attacker so she probably got Martin to call in a favor. One more thing to talk to Faith about later at lunch.** "Was the attack at night?" **

**"Yes it was, why?" **

**"Just wondering. Anyway I got to get going, thanks for the update. See you Monday Detective." **

**"Have a good weekend Counselor." **

Olivia watched Casey leave and noted that Casey should probably never play poker. Every thought she had was written on her face plain as day if you knew how to read them. Until then, Olivia thought she knew how to read every thought imaginable but there was one thought that she couldn't read in Casey's face just then and it concerned her, briefly, before she shook it off and dove back into the book she'd been reading. Saturdays usually weren't this slow but lately there'd been no activity. Almost like a city wide memo had gone out to the criminals to take the weekend off. Olivia turned back to her book and continued reading.

The book was like a who's who of the vampire legends. There was a whole section on Dracula (AKA Vlad the Impaler) and an even bigger section on one vamp called The Master. Olivia was strangely drawn to the section on the Master and his minions. She read for hours about The Master, and another vampire named Darla. Darla's exploits had their own section and included, strangely enough, only one "offspring" if that's what they're called. Angelus, the demon with the face of an angel. He really caught Olivia's attention and she read his sections more than once. She even got up to the copy machine and made copies of his exploits, though she didn't know why she did that. Olivia was still deep into the tales of Angelus's evil deeds when Munch walked in to relieve her for the second on call shift.

**"Hey Liv, how's it been?" **

**"Hey John, strangely quiet actually. Really let me catch up on my reading."** Olivia replied with a smile, happy to be able to get out of there and back home to read some more. Angelus really had her hooked, even if the majority of her brain reminded her that it was a work of fiction, most likely, she couldn't help but be captivated by it.

**"What are you reading?" **

Olivia held up the book and waiting for the ridicule or worse yet, no ridicule but honest curiosity.

John Munch looked at the book and paled for a brief second before recovering his composure.** "Interesting reading Liv, find anything good?" **

**"A few things, though I can't seem to find an author's name anywhere in this book. But here, something to read if you get bored."** Olivia handed John the photocopied pages of Angelus's exploits. Now Olivia knew why she'd copied them, Munch seemed to be the only one who would understand why she was reading something like that.

Munch took the pages and skimmed them quickly to see what they were about. The name Angelus caught his eye and he knew he'd need to read these more carefully.** "Thanks, I'll probably check them out after I catch up on some paperwork. You're officially free to go Liv, have a good weekend." **

**"Thanks John, see you Monday." **

**"Yup, bye." **

**"Bye." **

Olivia put on her jacket, grabbed her book and left the building, leaving a somber John Munch behind to ponder his next move.

Olivia made it back to her apartment and after she locked the door, she made a point of setting the book down on the coffee table and didn't pick it up again until after she'd showered, changed into casual clothes and made a light dinner. By that time she was just settling onto her couch when her phone rang. With a sigh she picked it up, preparing herself for the possibility of having to go to a crime scene.

**"Benson."**

**"Do you always answer your home phone like that?" **

**"Yes, who's this?"**

**"Awww...don't tell me you've forgotten my voice already? C'mon detective, use those powers of deduction I've heard so much about and figure it out."**

**"I am not in the mood for games so tell me who this is or I'm hanging up."** Olivia said, just a little pissed off.

**"Fine, spoil my fun, this is Faith...remember me now?"**

Everything in Olivia that could stand at attention suddenly did as an image of Faith flashed through her mind. **"Faith, yeah I remember now. How's your head?"**

**"Huh? My head---oh yeah that. All better now, not even a mark. You'd never know there was ever a cut. Thanks for asking. How are you? I didn't call at a bad time did I?"**

Faith's sexy voice was almost Olivia's undoing. She could hear the slight edge of seductive invitation in the low, sultry voice and could almost see a smile on those red lips of hers.

**"Not at all, I just had dinner actually. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" **

**"I was sitting here thinking about you and wondering if you were possibly free this evening. Thought maybe we could meet for a drink or something?"** Faith asked, her heart actually pounding she was so nervous. This was a new thing for Faith, the nervousness, not to mention the whole date thing. She never had dates, she usually just picked up a random body to enjoy for a few hours and that was it.

**"Wait, how did you get this number?" **

**"You gave it to me remember? On the back of your card the night I was...attacked."** Faith had a problem saying she'd been attacked, made her feel like a victim and she was never the victim.

**"Oh yeah I remember now, but that was weeks ago. Why call now?" **

**"It's only been three weeks detective, didn't wanna seem...desperate or anything. So, you free to go out or am I on my own tonight?"** Faith knew she had to meet Lucky later but she couldn't resist trying to get with Olivia. Especially not after what Casey had told her at lunch about the sexy detective asking about her.

Olivia took a moment to think about it then,** "Ok, but just drinks. There's a bar on the corner of 96th and Broadway. I'll meet you there in 30 minutes ok?"**

**"You're on Detective...see you soon."** Faith smiled as she closed her cell phone and looked up at the building in front of her. Olivia's building, according to Casey. Faith looked right at the window that she guessed was Olivia's and it was confirmed when the detective crossed the window and with her slayer enhanced vision Faith saw her clear as day. The sun had gone down only five minutes ago so there was still the last lingering remnants of the day. Faith sat parked outside Olivia's apartment until she saw Olivia leave and then she quietly followed the detective's car to the bar and parked across the street. Faith needed to make sure that Olivia got there safely before she could relax and go inside.

Faith walked in a few minutes after Olivia had and looked around, she felt her stomach do a flip when she realized she was in a cop bar. The former prison inmate in Faith rebelled at the thought of staying but then she remembered she had nothing to fear. She didn't even have a criminal record anymore plus, no cop here was gonna think she was anything but a sexy chick who walked in to have a drink. Still, she was glad she'd gotten her license and that she had it on her now. Faith walked up to the bar and smiled at the waitress, she was blond, and if it wasn't for the fact she was almost six feet tall, she might've reminded Faith of Buffy.

**"What can I get ya?" **

**"Jack and coke on the rocks."** Faith ordered with all the confidence that comes with being a slayer...and being 21.

The bartender looked at her for a moment then shrugged as if deciding that she was old enough, she handed the drink over to Faith and took the money for it then walked away.

Olivia had just stepped out of the restroom in the back when she noticed Faith at the bar. She saw Faith walk up, order and get served without being carded and she smiled. This could be her chance to find out for sure if she was old enough to drink and where she lived. Olivia made sure to stay out of Faith's sightline as she walked up behind her and spoke right into her ear.

**"You sure you're old enough to drink that?"** Olivia asked, slightly teasing and mostly curious.

To her credit, Faith didn't even flinch, she just turned around and met Olivia's eyes as she answered, **"Considering I'm in a cop bar it'd be really stupid of me if I wasn't, wouldn't it detective?" **

**"Yes it would."**

**"So I think the real question would be, do you think I'm stupid?" **

**"No I don't think you're stupid but I am sure you don't think I am just going to take your word for it right?"**

**"Wouldn't expect you to."** Faith smiled, loving this conversation even more because she was hoping that the detective would card her. Save her the trouble of trying to find a way to give Olivia her address. Plus, if Olivia needed proof that she wasn't jailbait then Faith would be all too happy to provide said proof. Faith reached into her back pocket and took out her license and handed it over to Olivia, who was waiting patiently.

Olivia took the license and checked it out, making a note of both the date of birth and the address for when she'd need them again. Satisfied that Faith was indeed old enough to drink she handed the card back and signaled the bartender.** "So, shall we sit at a table or will right here at the bar do?"**

Faith had to smile as she returned her license to her back pocket, Olivia Benson was going to prove a fun challenge after all. With just the right amount of give and take.** "Table detective, helps with the privacy." **

**"Ok, lead the way."** By this time Olivia had her drink in hand, a beer, and was ready to sit down for a bit. She was intrigued by Faith and was very interested in finding out why the younger girl had asked her out.

Faith led the way to a booth near the back that was secluded enough to talk yet still gave her a clear view of the door, just in case. Olivia also noticed the booth's location and wondered why Faith would need a booth that let her see who came and went, unless she was expecting someone later.

After they were settled into the booth, Faith took a moment to look around before she asked,**"So, detective, how long have you been a cop?" **

**"Long enough to know when someone is stalling, what's up Faith? What's the real reason why you asked me here?"**

**"I told you, I was thinking about you and wanted to see you. I'm not good with the whole asking questions thing so maybe you should just ask and I'll try to answer ok?"**

**"Questions about what?"** Olivia was a bit confused.

**"You know, about the other person the typical first date stuff, I've never really dated so I don't know what to ask or how to ask so why don't you go first and I'll try to follow ok?"**

**"First date stuff? Is that what this is a...first date?"**

**"That's what I'd like it to be. Listen detective, I like you...a lot and I wanna get to know you better and that's new for me. But if you're not interested let me know and we can forget this ever happened ok?"**

Olivia thought about that and realized how much it took for Faith to say all that. She didn't know Faith that well but just from the look on her face and the tone in her voice, Olivia could tell that it had been difficult. And that just made her even more interested in getting to know Faith more and she realized she would have to take the lead here if she wanted that to happen.

**"Ok then, I think the first thing you need to do Faith is relax, ok?" **

**"Relax? I am relaxed...well mostly. So does this mean you want this to be a first date too?" **

Olivia just nodded.

**"Good, so what made you go into the Special Victims Unit?"** Faith asked, her usual bluntness coming through now that she was sure Olivia wasn't going to go anywhere.

Olivia hesitated, flashing back to all those dates she'd had before Alex when she'd bring up what she did for a living and how that always killed the mood one way or another. But then Olivia remembered that Faith was Casey's cousin so she had to already know about what happened in Special victims and she still wanted to go out with her...that made her wonder if Faith was one of those people who got off on hearing about rapes and all the other stuff Olivia had to deal with. Olivia took a deep breath and took a chance, hoping she wasn't about to ruin her chances with Faith.

**"That's a long story for a different day ok? Seriously not first date stuff, but I will tell you that despite how hard it is sometimes, there's nothing else I'd rather be doing." **

**"I see, I'm sure by now you know that Casey is my cousin right?" **

**"Yes." **

**"Then you know that I have some idea of what Special Victims is all about so I won't ask you about the stuff you see everyday. I'm sure the last thing you probably need is to relive it all when you're off duty but I just wanna say that if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always available ok? Lord knows I'm getting used to it with Casey."**

**"Casey talks to you about her work?" **

**"Nothing specific she just uses me as a sounding board for her opening statements and stuff like that. I'm not exactly a whiz when it comes to the law but I know what sounds right."** The half-truth felt wrong in Faith's mind but she couldn't tell Olivia the whole truth without possibly getting Casey in trouble. But something about Olivia made Faith wish she could be Olivia's sounding board as well. Faith also wished she knew how to get Olivia to talk about the case that Casey had shown her. She figured Olivia might know more than Casey did since she got the info first.

**"I'll keep that in mind Faith. But for now, let's talk about anything except this case." **

**"Ok, read any good books lately?"** Faith meant it in a joking manner, but when she saw Olivia's face change slightly she realized she'd hit a nerve.

**"Did Casey tell you about that too?" **

**"About what?" **

**"The book I was reading when she saw me this morning." **

**"Nope, she mentioned seeing you, and she told me that she told you I was her cousin and you two talked about that and about a case but that was all she told me. She didn't mention any book, why? Did she catch you reading a trashy novel at work?"**

Olivia relaxed a bit, instinctively knowing that Faith was telling the truth. For whatever reason, Casey had disclosed everything but the book she was reading.** "No nothing like that. I was on call this morning and because it was unusually slow, I started reading a book I'd bought a few days ago. She walked in as I was reading." **

**"What book? If you don't mind me asking." **

**"This is going to sound weird but it was a vampire book, sort of a who's who of vampire legends, totally fiction I'm sure but still interesting."**

**"A vampire legends book? Let me guess, it had sections on Dracula right?"** Faith thought she knew which book Olivia had read but she was going to tread lightly here.

**"Yeah it did, and some vampire called The Master." **

**"You like vampire books? Like Anne Rice stuff?" **

**"Nah, I've never really read anything about vampires, fictional or otherwise, until this book." **

**"So why start now?" **

**"I don't know, seemed like the right time to read something new. Do you like vampire books, like Anne Rice?"**

**"Not Anne Rice but I've read some other vampire books, in fact I think I've read the one you have, is it called _Vampyres: 1025AD to Present Day_ ?"**

Olivia's surprise showed as she answered,** "Yup, that's the book. You've read it?" **

**"Cover to cover, it's pretty old like from 1995, where'd you find it?"**

**"Some small occult bookstore near the precinct, I don't remember where. You've read it then maybe you could tell me who wrote it? I can't find the author's name anywhere."**

**"That's probably because there've been too many authors to list. It's an anthology that was put together in 95 but no one knows by whom. All anyone knows is that every historical fact in the book can be verified as truth."**

**"How do you know all that?"**

**"I asked the person who gave me the book and she told me." **

**"Who gave it to you?" **

**"A librarian friend of mine in Boston."** Faith again didn't like the lie but she couldn't tell Olivia about her watcher and the council...the Watcher's Council were the ones who had compiled the book. It was supposed to be for the exclusive use of the watchers and slayers but Gwendolyn Post (who later tricked Faith into thinking she was her new watcher) had taken the text with her when she was kicked out of the council and the book had somehow ended up at a publishing house. The publishing house was later discovered to be legally represented by Wolfram & Hart, a truly evil law firm. That's how the book ended up in bookstores everywhere.

**"I see, so you read it from cover to cover?" **

**"Yup, even memorized parts of it. How far have you gotten?" **

**"Oh, I'm not reading it straight through. I checked the table of contents and found some interesting sounding names and read those."**

**"Ok, that's a new approach, so which names have you read about?"**_ 'Please don't say Angelus, please don't say Angelus'_ Faith silently pleaded, not sure how she'd react if Olivia told her she'd read all about Angel when he was evil. That book had no information past 1898 on Angel after he'd gotten his soul back, which meant it painted a very negative image of Angel.

Olivia thought about the topic they were discussing and realized it was probably better to talk about fictional monsters rather than the real ones she dealt with everyday at work.** "Dracula, obviously, although the book called him-"**

**"Vlad the Impaler." **

**"Yeah, and also The Master, Darla and Angelus. Though to be honest the one that kept me reading was Angelus. The things the book said about him were...well let's just say that someone's imagination is a lot better than reality."**

**"Imagination?" **

**"Yeah to come up with some of the things this fictional vampire did, the vast quantities of people he supposedly slaughtered. I'll tell ya I thought I had seen just about everything one person could do to another, but whoever wrote the Angelus bits seemed like he was trying to outdo each previous action. Like he needed Angelus to improve the way he killed. It makes for an interesting read. Don't you think?"**

**"Yeah, Angelus was actually my favorite one. Especially what happened to him in 1898, seemed like a fitting end."**

**"1898? I didn't read anything about 1898, Angelus's section ends in 1865 shortly after he sires a vampire named Drusilla. There's nothing else after that, what happened in 1898?"**

**"I thought this was all just fiction to you detective, you're starting to sound like you believe it."** Faith teased, stalling a bit.

**"Yeah well, guess that goes to show how fascinating the Angelus story is, it's starting to seem real. So tell me what happened in 1898, and where did you read more of Angelus's story? Was Angelus finally killed?"**

**"No, he wasn't killed, in 1898, according to what I read anyway, Darla, Angelus's lover at the time brought him a girl to feed on for his 'birthday' I guess you could call it. The anniversary of the day he was sired. Anyway, Angelus killed her but she was exactly the wrong girl to kill."** Faith's voice took on that of a storyteller as she recalled everything Buffy, Angel, Willow and Giles had ever told her about the circumstances surrounding Angel's soul being returned. Faith was careful to tell the tale in a voice that implied she was telling a fictional story and not the actual truth.** "The girl was a Gypsy, and when the others of her clan discovered her body and found out who it was that killed her, the elders came up with the perfect punishment." **

**"What did they do?" **

**"They restored Angelus's soul."**

**"His soul? What, they were all out of wooden stakes to just kill him?" **

**"They didn't want him dead, death is too simple Detective. They wanted Angelus to suffer just as their daughter had suffered, so they gave him back his soul."**

**"Ok, I'm lost, how is having a soul, going to make him suffer? I've come across countless humans who have souls who do things almost as bad as what Angelus supposedly did."**

**"Think about it, when a human becomes a vampire, the demon gets the body but it doesn't get the soul, that's gone. Without a soul, the vampire can kill without guilt, without remorse. Humans, no matter how evil their actions have a soul and they feel remorse... whether or not they choose to show it is another matter but they all feel it. With his soul restored, Angelus couldn't kill anymore because he was too busy tryin to live with the overdue guilt of over a hundred years of killing."**

**"How do you know all this? Or are you just making this up to mess with me?" **

**"I wish I were making it up, I read it in that same book that you have...except I have an earlier version what goes right up to the 1900's Boxer Rebellion in China as far as Angelus is concerned anyway."**

**"Wow, so the story ends there? Two years after he gets his soul back the story's over? That's not fair. You sure there aren't any sequels?"**

Faith smiled, thankful that Olivia still thought it was just a story. In time she might have to come clean but for right now it worked in Faith's favor that Olivia think Angelus wasn't real. Then Faith realized that if she ever found the vampire Lucky was telling her about, then Olivia would have to be told the truth, if for no other reason than to close the case, or make it a cold case. Faith checked her watch and realized she had to go meet Lucky, if she didn't Lucky might think she didn't show because she wanted to kill her and Faith didn't want to spook the vampire. She could be useful in gathering information. Olivia noticed Faith checking her watch.

**"Am I boring you Faith? Or is there someone else waiting for you?"** It wasn't said maliciously but Faith still flinched at the words. She didn't want to think about why she didn't want Olivia to think she had another date or that she was boring her.

**"No you're definitely not boring me detective, but I just remembered that I promised my father I'd meet him for dinner tonight."**

**"Ok Faith, you do realize that you can't lie right? I mean half-truths maybe but outright lies, nope. So why not just tell me the truth?"**

**"What do you mean by that?" **

**"There's a look you get in your eyes when you're not telling the whole truth but enough of it to pass a polygraph and then there's a look that says you're lying and a look for when you're not. Guess which one I saw when you told me about your dinner with your father?"**

Faith sighed, giving up and not stopping to analyze why she gave in so easily or why she was glad that Olivia could tell when she's lying. **"Ok detective--"**

**"Faith I think you can call me Olivia by now." **

**"Ok, Olivia, the truth is that I am going to a club in Hell's Kitchen that I honestly can't see you being comfortable in to talk to someone who might have some information for me about something a friend asked me to look into."**

**"I see...and why can't you see me being comfortable in this club? Is it a hardcore leather bar?" **

Faith laughed a little at that,** "No not a leather bar. It's...well it's a place where... you ever hear of Goths?" **

**"Goths? Yeah, is this bar a Goth bar?" **

**"Sort of... the people in this club they're well..."** Faith didn't know why she was having such a hard time telling Olivia about the club. But she did know that she didn't want to explain it in any way that would cause Olivia to want to come with her. That was so not gonna happen. There was no way Faith would ever take Olivia there. **"they like to pretend they're vampires. Lonely kids and young adults pretending they are vampires just so they'll have a place to belong to. It's just this side of pathetically sad but to each their own I guess."**

**"I see, I take it by the fact that you're not asking me to come along that you don't think I'd blend in huh?"** Olivia said with a smile, she wasn't offended, just the opposite actually. Despite her new interest in vampire stories, she was still glad that Faith didn't think she'd ever fit in at a place like the one she'd just described.

**"No offense, Olivia but there's no way you'd blend in there, and that's a good thing. I like that you look too normal to fit in there."** Faith said with a smile.** "But I really must go now before it's too late, but I really would like to see you again. Do you think that would be possible?" **

Olivia smiled at Faith's honesty.** "Yeah, I think we could manage that. How about lunch tomorrow?" **

**"Tomorrow? Ok, how about I pick you up at your place around 11:30?" **

**"Sounds like a plan, here's my address."** Olivia wrote her address on a nearby napkin and handed it to Faith.

Faith just let her, knowing that if she didn't then she'd have to explain how she knew where Olivia lived and that was an explanation Faith didn't want to give just yet. So Faith took the napkin and put it in her pocket. Then she smiled at Olivia.

**"Can I give you a lift home detective?" **

**"Thanks but I drove here, but you can walk me to my car Faith." **

**"I'd be honored, let's go." **

They got up and Faith walked behind Olivia to the door, surreptitiously enjoying the view of Olivia from the back. Faith smiled at first then realized the trouble she'd be in if Olivia noticed where she was looking so she forced her gaze up to the back of Olivia's head. Once there, it was easier for Faith to keep a good eye on their surroundings as they stepped out of the relative safety of the cop bar and onto the dark street. Olivia noticed Faith looking up and down the street as if she was anticipating trouble. A few weeks in the city and Faith already acted like a typical New Yorker should at night.

Olivia led the way to her car and opened the door. She turned to say something to Faith along the lines of goodnight but before she could say a word, Faith leaned over and kissed her. It was a brief kiss but it still managed to make Olivia forget everything she was about to say and she just stood there as the kiss ended and stared at Faith. After a few seconds, Faith smiled.

**"Goodnight Olivia, drive safely."** With that Faith ran her fingertips along Olivia's jaw then turned to leave. Olivia had no other choice but to get in her car and drive away. What Olivia didn't notice was that Faith had followed her home and sat in her car waiting until the light came on in Olivia's window before she pulled away and left, smiling as she remembered their kiss.

TBC...


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 **

**"I was starting to think you weren't coming Slayer."** Lucky said as Faith walked up to her usual table, this time though, it was empty save for the vampire. She didn't want to have to send them away again so she made sure no one bothered her until the Slayer arrived.

**"I'm a little late I know, don't go waiting for an apology, that ain't my style." **

**"I suspected as much, not to worry Slayer I'm not interested in an apology. Besides, we never did set a specific time though I was hoping you'd be here before sunrise and here you are, so it's all good."** Lucky smiled, wanting the slayer to know that it was ok and that she still wasn't interested in fighting her.

**"Good, let's go to the back and talk ok?"**

**"Whatever you say Slayer."**

Lucky again led the way to the back room. After they were settled in Faith began to speak.** "What else do you know about the vampire I am looking for? The one who killed those girls?"**

**"What makes you think I know anything other than what I already told you?"**

**"Because you're not a very good liar Lucky, or should I say Natalie?"**

The change in Lucky's expression was hard to miss as she heard the name she hadn't heard in years.** "H-how did you find out about Natalie?"**

**"I did my homework and I did the math. You are Natalie Woodson aren't you?" **

**"I was, when I was alive. After Angelus though, Natalie ceased to exist. I became Lucky after I survived not being dusted by my own sire. What else do you know about Natalie?"**

Faith found it interesting that Lucky referred to herself in the third person, as if talking about someone else and not her former identity. Faith recalled the details that Casey had shared with her over lunch earlier.** "Just what I've found out from the public records. According to the police reports, Natalie Woodson was raped and murdered by her boyfriend David Morgan. Morgan was tried, convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life for the crime. He's still in Sing Sing serving his time. Now, Lucky if Angelus killed and sired you then how did Morgan get collared?"** Faith knew the case against David Morgan but she needed to hear it from Lucky--from Natalie.

**"I wasn't raped, and David never hurt me. We were together that day, he'd just asked me to marry him and I was so happy I said yes. We spent the whole day in bed celebrating. Then I suggested we go out to dinner to celebrate some more. We went out and had a nice dinner, then I was so tired from everything we'd done that day that I couldn't walk the three blocks to the car so I told David I wasn't going to walk. He told me to wait by the front doors of the restaurant and he'd go get the car. I wandered away from the light from the restaurant and that's when someone grabbed me and took me into a nearby alley. I was so scared I thought he was going to rape me, I never thought he'd do what he did. He became a monster right before my eyes and while I was in shock, he leaned down and bit me. Next thing I remembered was waking up in my coffin. I broke my way through and climbed out. Angelus was there, waiting for me with a stake in his hand and a look in his eyes like he was sorry...he told me who he was and then we fought, and Angelus had me on my back and he was about to drive the stake into my heart when he looked into my eyes and stopped himself. He got up and stumbled away. After he'd left I got up and got out of there. I found a few places where I could hide from the sun during the day and I walked the streets at night."**

**"How many people have you killed?"**

**"Only five, and I regret them all but they had to be done. For the first few years I lived off of rats and stray animals, not the best way to survive but I managed."**

**"Why? Why didn't you kill more? What stopped you?"**

**"I don't know. But every time I thought about killing a human for blood I would literally get sick and wouldn't stop throwing up for a whole day."**

**"That didn't stop you from killing those five, but I think I know why you couldn't kill any more."**

**"Those five were unavoidable. Why do you think I couldn't kill any more humans?"**

**"Because you were sired by a vampire with a soul. I talked to a friend of mine who knows about these things and he told me that in the unlikely event that a vampire with a soul were to sire another vampire, that vampire would retain enough of their humanity to act as a...leash of sorts. A vampire who was sired by a vampire with a soul would still be able to kill but not as mercilessly as a vampire without any of its humanity left. There's still enough of Natalie inside you to stop you from mass slaughter but as evidenced by the five you've admitted to killing, not enough to prevent all killings. Wanna tell me who the other two were?"**

**"Angelus had a soul? If he had a soul to keep him from killing then how'd he manage to sire me?"**

**"I don't know, but I can find out if you really want me to."**

Lucky thought about that and realized she really didn't need to know. It was in the past and it was done.** "No, that's not necessary. But thank you slayer. I have a question for you."**

**"OK."**

**"Why were you so ready to trust me? To trust that I wouldn't try to kill you or set a trap for you when you came back here?"** It wasn't asked in a way to make Faith think she'd done the wrong thing just a curious question. Lucky had heard tales of slayers who were merciless when it came to vampires. The closest one she'd heard of was one in Boston who'd taken on Kakistos, a really powerful vampire, then fled to parts unknown. Lucky had heard the tales about that one but never a name or description just that she was the best anyone had ever seen. Rumors came back to the east coast that the slayer had killed Kakistos out west somewhere. Lucky never wanted to meet that slayer.

**"Because I figure if you really wanted to kill me, Lucky, you would've done it the second we came back here last night. If you were really any kind of threat, you would've surrounded yourself with real vampires and not kid wannabes."**

**"I also might not have turned my back on you as I led the way."**

**"That too."** Faith smiled, knowing they were getting closer to trusting each other. She had to be sure that the killings would stop before she could decide what to do about Lucky, Casey, and the cops.** "So, you gonna tell me who the other two people you killed were?"**

**"If you really wanna know it was my parents."**

**"Your parents? Man, do all vamps go in for that family blood thing?"**

**"I don't know if it was about family blood or not but I killed them because they were abusing my brother. After I died, my parents started drinking and when they got drunk they would hit Robert. He was only a kid, fifteen and a typical scrawny kid. He was no match for my father who was a former bodybuilder. My mother just let it happen, and when I went to find Robert one night after one of his basketball games I saw the black eye and the bruises on his arms. After he got over the shock of seeing me and I told him what I was now he told me what our parents had been doing to him. He was seventeen by then and about to graduate. I told him to hold on until he turned 18, that once he was an adult I'd handle it. I made him swear not to tell anyone and that's when he told me about David being in prison for killing me. And that my parents, who'd never liked David, testified against him at trial. It was their testimony that really sent David to prison. Their lies over how he abused me."**

**"David never hit you?"**

**"No, never. David was the gentlest man I'd ever known. The bruises my parents would see on my arms came from the martial arts class I was taking that they didn't know about. No one knew I was taking them, not even David."**

**"So David is sitting in jail for a crime he didn't commit?"**

**"Yup, and if there was a way I could clear him of that crime I would do it and get him out of there. He doesn't deserve what's happened to him but there's no way for me to help him."**

**"You killed your parents but, why did you let your brother live?"**

**"I love Robert, there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. When I saw what my parents were doing to him I couldn't take it so I did the only thing I could think of to protect him. After they died, Robert inherited all their money, he used it to go to college and get an education. He also used the money to help me."**

**"Help you how?"**

**"He bought this building for me, he pays the utility bills and during the day, he sometimes visits me. My brother looks out for me and in exchange, I stay out of trouble and keep on existing."**

**"Does Robert know about the three girls you killed?"**

**"Not yet, he hasn't been around for a few weeks. He sent a letter by courier that the cops had been to see him to ask him questions about me. He decided he'd better not come around in case the cops were watching him. Any idea why the cops were talking to him, Slayer?"**

Faith stopped to think. Casey had told her earlier about the cops talking to Robert Woodson. Faith decided that telling Lucky about the evidence that led them to Robert wasn't going to make much of a difference now. **"Yeah, see Lucky, the third girl you killed had saliva on her thigh from the bite mark. The medical examiner tested it and matched it to your DNA from your case ten years ago. Since the cops are all outta leads, they decided to talk to the only remaining member of your family. They also went to the prison and talked to David."**

**"They talked to David? Why would they talk to David?"**

**"Honestly, I don't know. I guess they were just following every lead they could."**

**"Oh."**

Faith sat quietly for a moment as Lucky absorbed the new information. It occurred to Lucky that she'd left evidence tying her to the murders but that the cops couldn't ever use that evidence because as far as the world was concerned, she was dead.

**"So what's your next move Slayer?"** Lucky asked, breaking the silence in the small room.

Faith took a moment to think about that and realized that as far as Lucky was concerned, she had only two choices: kill her or cure her. If she killed her, Faith would lose her only link to the darker side of the City but she would be stopping a killer. Lucky's lack of a soul would always mean that she could kill again, regardless of her unique circumstances regarding what's left of her humanity. The only way to cure her was to contact Willow about restoring Lucky's soul. But that was a tricky issue, mainly because Olivia had a valid point earlier...having a soul doesn't stop someone from killing just makes them feel guilty about it. Faith wished there was a third option. Possibly even one that could get an innocent man out of jail.

**"Right now Lucky, I'm not sure. The way I see it there are two options, neither of which I am comfortable with."**

**"What options?"**

Faith took a deep breath.** "Stake you, or restore your human soul."**

**"I see. You're a slayer though, why aren't you comfortable with staking me?"**

**"Because you're not exactly evil Lucky. Thanks to Angelus, you have enough humanity inside you to stop you from being evil, but you're still a demon and there's no indication that the humanity you have retained will last forever."**

**"True. But how would you restore my soul? I mean, is that even possible?"**

**"Yes, I think it is. I have a witch friend who's done it before. But having a soul, to me, doesn't guarantee you'll never kill again, just means that if you do you'll feel guilt over it."**

**"And there's no third option?"**

**"None that I can see. I have a favor to ask of you."**

**"Okay."**

**"I need you to give me a few days. I am going to contact some friends and see if there's another option that I'm not aware of, ok?"**

**"Ok, not sure what you're asking of me yet."**

**"This will mean that I might not be able to come see you for a few days. I don't want you to think that my absence is a declaration of war."**

**"Oh. I see. Ok Slayer, on one condition though."**

**"What?"**

**"If I am going to trust that you're not going to plan an ambush and raid this place I need a show of trust on your part."**

**"What kind of show of trust?"**

**"Your name."** Lucky asked, knowing that slayers rarely gave their names to vampires, something about once the vamps know your name, the slayer is no longer the hunter or some crap like that. Lucky didn't want to hunt the Slayer, she knew better than that, she just wanted a show of trust.

Faith hid her surprise well. She, of course had heard the warning of her first watcher about letting the vampires know her name but in this instance, it didn't matter. She realized that she might be opening herself up for a fall if Lucky recognized her name from her time in Boston but she didn't care. If she wanted Lucky to trust her enough to give her some time to figure things out, she'd have to make the first move.

**"Faith."**

**"Faith."** Lucky repeated, letting the name sink in.** "Where are you originally from Faith?"**

**"Born here in New York City."** It wasn't a lie, and Faith didn't want to reveal her Boston origin just yet.** "So, do I have your word that you won't start thinking I'm out to kill you if I don't show up for a few days?"**

**"That's a lot for a Slayer to ask of a vampire."**

**"Lucky, when I am out to kill you, I'll let you know before I go after you. And I won't bring a raiding party into a club full of humans. So, we have a deal?"**

Lucky studied her carefully.** "Deal Slay-I mean Faith."**

**"Good."** Faith checked her watch and realized that it was almost morning.** "I gotta go Lucky. The sun's coming up and the City awaits. I'll be back in a week ok?"**

**"Ok. See you Faith."**

Faith left the room and the club and made her way back home. It was 7am and still way too early to call Willow in Long Island but Angel might be awake still. Faith pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number to Angel's hotel.

With an irritated impatience in his voice Angel answered after two rings,** "Angel Investigations."**

**"Hey, big guy! It's Faith. Sorry about the early call. Got a minute?"**

Angel, upon hearing it was Faith, relaxed and smoothed his voice out, not wanting to take out his current frustrations out on the young slayer.** "Hey Faith, yeah I got some time. What's up?"**

**"It's a little complicated but..."** Faith trailed off before launching into a detailed account of her interactions with Lucky and Angel's part in it all.

_Meanwhile across the city..._

Detective Olivia Benson woke up from a night spent plagued by dreams of vampires and Faith. Olivia had gone back home after her 'date' with Faith and picked up her vampire book again and, after getting ready for bed, she propped herself up in bed with pillows and continued reading. When she could no longer keep her eyes open, she dropped the book next to her on the bed and slept.

As Olivia opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the spine of the book and the word Vampyres and was able to rationalize why she'd dreamed about vampires and Faith the night before. She ignored the fact that this explanation didn't cover the other times she'd had the dreams.

Olivia slid out of bed at 7:30 and headed for her shower. As the hot water cascaded down her body she let her mind clear of everything but the events of the previous evening. She had to admit that she'd not had as good a time as she had last night since Alex left. It had been a while since someone had come along and made her feel so comfortable and relaxed even after they knew what she did for a living. Alex had been the first one and now, Faith was the second person. That made Olivia smile. Luckily, Olivia had Sunday off and she only had one thing on her agenda, lunch with Faith. Until it was time for that, she'd decided to clean her apartment and then continue reading the rest of her vampire book.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Faith sat in her bedroom, wearing just a towel having just gotten out of the shower. Her conversation with Angel had given her way too much to think about, the main thing being that Angel couldn't (or wouldn't) tell her over the phone why he'd sired Lucky. He remembered it though, very clearly but insisted on making a trip to New York to tell Faith face to face. Faith wasn't sure if she wanted Angel in New York right now. It'd be hard to explain to Casey if she ever saw Angel. Why he could only go out at night and also why Faith was friends with a vampire. Then there was the issue of Olivia. God help Faith if Olivia found out that Angelus was real. Faith truly didn't know how she'd be able to explain it all to the detective and the ADA. Faith wasn't even going to think about how she'd explain Angel's presence to her father.

However, Faith also didn't know how she'd be able to convince Angel to stay in LA. He may have a soul but he also had a stubborn streak and there was no guarantee that he wouldn't bring Buffy along for the ride. It was too much for Faith's brain to handle right then so she decided to get dressed and call Willow on her way to pick up Olivia for lunch. Faith looked at the clock by her bedside and realized she only had an hour before her lunch date with the sexy detective.

Faith dressed quickly and grabbed her elevator key before heading out the door. Her father had left Saturday afternoon for his other house to 'open the house up' or something like that. Faith didn't mind having the place all to herself and it also allowed her to come and go without having to explain her movements. Faith was riding the elevator to the garage when her cell phone rang. Looking at the call ID she recognized the number and smiled as she answered the call.

**"Hey C, s'up?"** Faith said by way of answering, knowing her cousin was on the other end.

Casey smiled, she was getting used to Faith's way of answering a phone. Made a nice change from the detectives who usually answered with their last names in a terse voice.** "Hey Faith, was actually wondering if you had plans for lunch. I know Martin's not there so I thought I'd see if you wanted to join me for lunch."**

**"Damn, C I'd love to you know that but I kinda have a lunch date."**

**"Really? You didn't mention it yesterday, you holding out on me Faith?"** Casey teased, curious who Faith was having lunch with.

Faith laughed,** "Nah, C you know I'd never do that. These plans were made last night over drinks after we talked."**

**"Oh yeah? Mind if I ask who with?"**

Faith hesitated, not sure if Casey knew about Olivia or not.** "Um...Detective Benson."** Faith waited for the shocked dismay, or worse the disbelief.

Casey smiled on her end, knowing Faith couldn't see the look on her face. Of course Casey'd heard the rumors about Olivia and her predecessor the late Alexandra Cabot being more than friends, but she'd never lent much credence to office rumors. After all, there were already similar rumors about herself and Serena from Homicide (thanks to one innocent lunch that ended with Serena's hand on her thigh wiping off a sauce spill) and heaven knows that there was nothing between them but friendship. Not that Casey didn't want there to be more but she couldn't seem to get her act together around the beautiful blonde.

**"Casey? You still there?"** Faith's voice cut through Casey's reverie and brought her back to the present.

**"Yeah Faith I'm still here. Sorry about that I guess my mind ran away with me. So, Detective Benson huh? This a date date, or just a friendly lunch?"**

**"I dunno yet but I am treating it like a real date. You sure you're ok with this? I mean you guys work together."**

**"Faith it's fine. Maybe you can get more information about the case during lunch."**

**"Maybe."** Faith didn't want to admit to Casey yet that she had the case all but figured out. All she needed now was to figure out what to do with Lucky. **"Listen I gotta let you go. I am on my way to pick up Olivia and I still have to try to call a friend of mine for some help. So can I call ya later C?"**

**"Yeah sure. Have fun Faith."** Casey said then hung up the phone. With the whole day looming in front of her with nothing to do and no one to hang out with Casey decided to rent some movies and make some popcorn and just relax all day.

Faith ended the call and dialed Kennedy's number on Long Island. The phone rang twice before a male voice answered,** "Preston residence, hello?"**

**"Um, hello is Kennedy there please?"** Faith asked uncertainly, not sure if she'd reached the right house. She never thought to ask Kennedy her last name.

**"Just a moment, whom may I ask is calling?"** The voice had a definite English accent though not as pronounced as Faith was used to hearing from her watcher and Giles and Spike.

**"Her friend, Faith."**

**"One moment please I'll get her. Please hold."** There was a pause then a low hum of what could only be described as tinny classical music. Faith rolled her eyes at the sound, who had hold music on a house phone? Faith waited patiently as she drove to Olivia's building, still 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Finally after a few minutes the music ended and Faith heard Kennedy's immediately recognizable voice.

**"Hello, Faith?"**

**"Hey K! Who was that that answered the phone? Sounded like a watcher."**

**"Oh, that was Leonard, the butler. Anyway, what's up?"** Kennedy talked fast and tried to change the subject. She always got uncomfortable talking about her parents' wealth.

Faith got the hint and got right to the point.** "Nothing major yet but I wanted to get Red's opinion on something. Is she around?"**

**"Yeah one sec."** Kennedy turned away from the phone to where her red headed girlfriend was sitting on the couch reading a book.** "Hey Will, Faith wants a word."** Kennedy called Willow over in the vaguest way she knew how. Willow looked up and after placing a bookmark in her book she made her way over to the phone. With a quick kiss on Kennedy's lips Willow took the phone and spoke with Faith.

**"Hey Faith, what's going on?"** Willow, with Kennedy's help, had managed to get over all her negative feelings about Faith and now accepted her as a friend and one of the good guys.

**"Hey Red, I uh, actually ran into a problem down here that only you can help me with I think."**

**"What's the deal?"**

Faith took a deep breath then began an explanation similar to what she told Angel but without mentioning who sired Lucky.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 **

Faith hung up with Willow before parking on Olivia's street. She checked her watch and saw she had ten more minutes. She sat in the car hoping that Angel wouldn't bring Buffy and that he could help her and also that she could pull it all off without revealing the truth to Olivia about vampires and slayers. Faith was lost in thought when her cell phone rang again. She checked the number and saw it was Angel's number so she answered it.

**"Hello?"**

**"Faith? Is that you?"** Buffy's voice right in her ear like that came as a shock and stole her words for a moment. **"Faith? It's Buffy."**

**"Hi B. What do you want?"** Faith finally recovered and reverted back to her normal attitude.

**"Angel asked me to call and tell you he'll be at JFK airport tonight at nine pm local time, and to please pick him up ok?"**

**"Yeah ok. Is that it?"** Faith tried to sound impatient and indifferent, not wanting Buffy to know how affected she was by hearing Buffy's voice.

There was a pause on the line, then the sound of a deep breath being taken, then,** "I miss you Faith."** It was a whisper but Faith still heard it.** "I wanted you to know that. To know that...that I'll be here whenever you decide to come hom--back."**

**"Thanks B. But I _am_ home and I don't see myself going back to California. Too many memories, too much pain, too much water under the bridge. Look I gotta go. I'll call you sometime ok? Bye."**

Before Buffy could reply, Faith ended the call then turned the phone off. She'd waited so long to hear Buffy admit she meant something to her and now that she had she realized that...it was too little too late. Faith checked her watch and with less than five minutes to spare she left her car and walked down a few buildings to Olivia's. The short walk helped clear her head of Buffy's voice and Faith rang the bell at exactly 11:30am. She smiled at her timing. Olivia's voice came from the intercom.

**"Faith?"**

**"The one and only, you ready?"**

**"Almost, come on up. Second floor, 2F."**

The buzzer rang and Faith pushed open the door. She took the stairs up to Olivia's apartment, smiling. There was something about Olivia Benson that Faith couldn't help but be drawn to. Something that told her maybe this was the start of a new chapter in her life.

Faith reached Olivia's door and paused a moment to collect herself, certain that the tone for the rest of the date would be set by Olivia's first impression of her right now. Faith took a deep breath then knocked on the door.

The sound of footsteps approaching the door could be heard as Faith waited for a reply to her knock. The door swung open and a smiling Olivia faced Faith. For a moment, silence prevailed as Faith waited to be invited in and Olivia waited for any part of her brain to tell her this was wrong. So far, it was remaining silent. Finally, Faith regained her usual attitude and broke the silence.

**"Do I rate an invitation inside?"** The question unintentionally took on a double meaning in both their minds. Faith knew she was asking about more than just being allowed inside Olivia's apartment and Olivia heard the unspoken meaning in Faith's words but she decided to ignore it, for now.

**"Of course you do. Come on in."** Olivia said, stepping aside to let Faith walk by her into the apartment.

Faith walked past Olivia and a small smile creeped over her face. She saw an opportunity to tease Olivia while at the same time providing a much needed lesson in Vampire Avoidance 101.

**"Just like that Detective you invite me inside? What if I was a vampire?"**

The look on Olivia's face was such a mixture of uncertainty and skepticisim that Faith couldn't help but laugh a little.** "Relax Olivia, I am definitely not a vampire. But I thought after our discussion last night you'd know better. A vampire can't enter your apartment without an invitation."**

**"I knew that...well I think I knew that but Faith, vampires aren't real. So what does it matter if I know about the invite rule or not?"** Olivia asked, wondering where this was coming from and where it was leading because suddenly Faith's face got too serious for Olivia's comfort.

Faith remembered that to Olivia, vampires weren't real and that the thought of them being real was so far out of Olivia's world that it wasn't even a possibility. Faith relaxed, realizing that if she wanted Olivia to take her serious she'd have to tell her about a world she didn't want Olivia to be exposed to... her world. A world of vampires, demons, witches, werewolves and slayers. A world where those things were all too real. It never occurred to Faith that these things were already a part of Olivia's world, as evidenced by Faith's presence in Olivia's apartment.

**"Casey told me about this case you're working on. Three dead girls all drained of their blood. I guess I let my imagination get away from me with it and I let that seep into this day. I'm sorry."**

Olivia visibly relaxed.** "No need to apologize Faith. We all let our imaginations run away sometimes. So what else did Casey tell you about this case?"** Olivia asked, wondering if she'd have to have a talk with Casey about discussing cases with civilians, regardless of their family status.

**"Enough. But enough about that, you ready to go to lunch?"** Faith tried changing the subject, she didn't want to get Casey into any trouble.

Olivia saw Faith's change of subject for what it was and decided to drop it. She also really didn't feel like discussing Casey with Faith. She wanted today to be about her and Faith and fun. **"Yeah, let's go."**

They left Olivia's building and had lunch at a small cafe. They talked about all sorts of things that had nothing to do with vampires or Olivia's job. Faith had just signaled for the check when her cell phone rang.

Faith frowned at the intrusion as she checked the call ID. Seeing Kennedy's number she wavered for a second before she said to Olivia,** "damn, I have to take this can you excuse me for one second?"** At Olivia's nod Faith stood up and walked to a quiet corner where she could talk and keep an eye on Olivia at the same time. Faith felt very protective of Olivia.

**"Hello?"**

**"Faith, it's Willow. Sorry to interrupt but, I think I figured out how to restore Lucky's soul without the happiness clause."**

**"Hey Red, wow that's good. That was fast too, who'd you call for help?"** Faith knew Willow was a great witch but even this was out of her league.

Willow took no offense.** "The coven in England. They have ties to the gypsy clan that originally cursed Angel. It's a long story for another day but as soon as I get the necessary ingredients and the word from you I can be down there and restore Lucky's soul."**

**"Sounds like a plan Red, but I wanna wait a bit. Angel's coming to town tonight and I wanna hear what he has to say before I act ok?"**

**"Your call Faith. Wait, how's Angel coming here without worrying about the sunlight?"**

**"Turns out Wolfram and Hart have a private plane specially built to accommodate flying vampires. He'll get in to New York after sunset so he'll be safe until I get him to my dad's place. Which should be a fun thing to explain to dad, being friends with a vampire."**

**"Wow, but your dad knows you're a slayer right?"**

**"Yeah he knows. Still..."**

**"Yeah I get it. Well, when he gets in have him call me so I can stay in the loop about what we're going to do. Also, if he wants I think I can fix his curse so that he doesn't have to worry about that happiness clause. Maybe then, he and Buffy can be together finally."** Willow, who was unaware of Faith's feelings for Buffy, only saw Buffy with Angel. She didn't know that a few weeks ago Faith would've given anything to have Buffy for herself. Now, Faith could only hope that Buffy would go back to Angel if they didn't have to worry about him losing his soul.

**"Sounds like something he might be interested in Red. I'll tell him about it tonight but I gotta go now, my date's waiting on me ok? Talk to you later Red."**

**"Oh ok, later Faith."**

Faith hung up and walked back to Olivia who was sitting at the table pretending she wasn't curious as hell about the phone call Faith just took.

Olivia, with her hearing honed by years as a detective, strained to hear what Faith was talking about. She caught the name Red and thought maybe Faith had given Casey a new nickname but when she heard the words _'vampire'_ and _'angel',_ she knew it couldn't be Casey Faith was talking to. There was definitely something that Faith was hiding from her.

The lunch date turned into a walk in Central Park before Faith realized she had to get home and make sure the apartment was vampire friendly for tonight. With great reluctance, Faith drove Olivia to her apartment and insisted on walking her up to her door.

At Olivia's door, Faith leaned in and kissed Olivia good bye, asking before she left if they could have dinner the next night. Olivia said yes and gave her directions to the station. Faith agreed to pick her up there (despite her reservations about being in a police station) and then Faith left.

Olivia went into her apartment and settled for watching a movie with the rest of her day off.

TBC...


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 **

Faith left Olivia's and headed home. She walked in and noticed the light on the answering machine was blinking. She played the messages.

The first one was from her father saying that he was going to be staying at the other house for a few weeks to supervise some construction being done. He gave her directions to the house in case she wanted to drive up on her own. Faith dutifully wrote down the directions and address but she knew she wasn't going to be going there anytime soon. Angel's visit just became easier. Without her father around, she wouldn't have to worry about explaining his presence to her father.

The second message was from Angel, reminding her of his flight and asking again to be picked up. Faith smiled at that one. Despite being over 240 years old, Angel still managed to sound like a lost little kid sometimes. Faith knew that Angel could've easily hired a limo with the money from Wolfram and Hart but that having Faith come get him would be easier and a lot less high profile. Faith didn't mind picking him up though, he'd done so much for her over the years that she felt she owed him more than she'd ever be able to repay. Luckily he never took advantage of that in a bad way.

Faith went to one of the empty bedrooms and began covering the windows with heavy blankets, blocking out the sun and making it safe for Angel to be there during the day. Faith went through most of the apartment doing the same thing, not wanting to restrict Angel to just the bedroom. The only rooms kept off limits were her father's bedroom and bathroom and her own bedroom. After her time in prison Faith vowed to never take the sunlight for granted.

Faith made a trip to a small butcher shop in Brooklyn that Lucky had told her about and bought a few gallons of blood for Angel. Being a slayer made it easier for her to be around that much blood than it appeared to be for the young man who was working behind the counter who handed her the containers. She offered no explanation for wanting them and he asked for none. This was New York, strange was a given.

Faith got home and put the blood in the fridge in a clearly labeled section she'd set aside for Angel and his blood. Finally it was time to leave to the airport to get Angel. Faith drove carefully and got there with a half hour to spare so she headed to a newsstand and bought a magazine to read while she waited.

Ten minutes later, Faith's slayer instincts began to tingle. There was a vampire near by. Faith thought maybe Angel's private plane came in early but when she looked around she saw that the vampire who'd set her tingles off wasn't Angel... it was Lucky.

Lucky walked over and sat next to Faith quietly. **"Hey Faith."**

**"Hey Lucky, what are you doing here?"**

**"Looking for you actually."**

**"Why?"** Faith wasn't in the mood for games and if Lucky found out she was waiting for Angel, Faith was unsure how the young vampire would react.

**"Would you believe I missed you?"**

**"Nope, try again."**

**"Ok fine. I got tired of waiting around for you to decide my fate."**

**"Lucky it's only been one day. These things take time I wanna be sure I've checked all the options."**

**"Is that what you're doing here? 'Checking all the options'?"** The sarcastic tone in Lucky's voice told Faith more than the words.

**"Yes, someone's flying in tonight that will have some answers I need. But you can't be here when he gets here so can you please go home?"**

**"Who is it? The Pope?"**

Lucky's presence was making Faith nervous and also getting on her nerves so Faith slipped and said,** "No not the Pope. Your sire, Angelus. And I would really prefer you not be here when he shows up, I don't need a fight to break out and draw attention to us."**

Lucky's eyes widened as she listened. She suddenly got a scared look in her eyes.** "You're waiting for Angelus? You know how to contact him? Is that why you sought me out? Did he hire you to find me and deliver me to him?"**

**"What? No. Angelus, or rather, Angel is my friend. Like you are my friend. And since he's your sire I need his help in figuring out what to do with you. He says he has a better solution to the situation that doesn't involve dusting you or restoring your soul. I need to hear him out."**

Faith let slip more than she'd intended to but she needed to keep Lucky on her side.

**"You promise you're not going to kill me unless it's the only solution?"**

**"I promise. Now can you please leave before he gets here?"**

**"Yeah ok. Bye."**

Lucky got up and left, quicker than Faith thought was possible even for a vampire. Lucky seemed to be running more from Angel than towards any destination. Faith wondered if Lucky would always be afraid of Angel.

Thankfully, before she could stress herself out over that thought, Angel appeared at the terminal gate, with a young woman behind him. Faith smiled as she recognized Winifred Burkle, Fred to her friends, standing with Angel. Faith walked up to the pair and greeted them with hugs.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once they were in Faith's car, Fred spoke up from the backseat.** "So Faith, I hope you don't mind that I tagged along. Angel said he could use someone to talk to on the flight."** Fred was nervous, she'd always had a tiny crush on Faith, knowing nothing could ever come of it once she saw the way Faith looked at Buffy.

**"Nah don't worry about it Fred. You can keep Angel company during the day when I go out."**

**"Do you have a job or something Faith?"** Angel asked, curious.

**"Not really, more like a hobby. My cousin is an ADA and I've been hanging with her during the day trying to learn more about the law. Besides, the City's too cool to be left unexplored during the daylight hours. Helps me not get lost when I patrol at night."**

**"You patrol? In New York City?"** Fred sounded skeptical, like she didn't think vampires hunted in big cities like this.

**"Yeah a few nights a week. Nothing hard core mainly because vamps tend to hunt in thinner crowds where the picking's easier and they're less likely to be seen. Besides, I've been pretty busy dealing with Lucky and her situation."**

**"Yeah, about Lucky, Faith."**

**"Chill Angel. It can wait til we get to the apartment. I don't need to be worrying about anything beyond driving right now ok?"**

**"Fair enough."**

Silence took over the car as Faith guided it the rest of the way home. Faith, Angel, and Fred took the elevator directly up to the Penthouse apartment, avoiding unwanted passengers by overriding the call button. Once the doors opened Angel felt the barrier around the apartment. Faith had never actually invited him in, so as Faith and Fred walked in Angel waited calmly in the elevator. After a few seconds though he got impatient.

**"Ahem Faith? You forgetting something?"**

**"No I don't think so... oh oops sorry big guy. Come in."** Faith turned towards the elevator as she spoke and when she realized that she'd never really invited him in she quickly, if sheepishly, invited him in.

**"It's ok Faith, just been a while since I've felt that barrier. So, this is where you live? No wonder you told Buffy you weren't coming back."** There was no malice or really anything negative in Angel's tone but Faith stiffened a little as his words hit her.

**"Angel, you know as well as I do there's nothing back there for me to go back to."** At the slightly hurt look on the vampire's face Faith immediately altered her statement. **"I mean, there's you but you don't need another slayer around. Besides, it's not like the people you work with trust me you know. Except for you Fred."** Faith said as she saw Fred begin to contradict her, though sometimes Faith wondered if Fred truly trusted her or if her trust was an extension of her trust in Angel .** "At least here, I got my father and my cousin and even a new friend. I'm home Angel, finally I feel like I am home. I can't give that up just because Buffy finally realized she could stand to be in the same room with me. I'm sorry."** Though Faith didn't know exactly what she was apologizing for.

Angel just waved it off, realizing that any hope he may have had of Faith and Buffy mending their friendship would be in vain.

Faith gave them the tour of the apartment and showed Angel and Fred their rooms. Angel smiled as he saw the blankets on the windows. It had been a while since he'd had to worry about sunlight, having customized the hotel he owned to block the sun. Once they were all settled in the living room, Faith and Fred drinking beers and Angel drinking...well the only thing he could drink that would give him any satisfaction. Faith and Fred somehow managed not to cringe when he drank, mainly because every sip left a slight reddish residue that could only be likened to a milk mustache on Angel's upper lip.

**"So, Angel, what's this big solution that you just had to tell me face to face?"** Faith decided to get right to the point, anything to get her mind off of what Angel was drinking right there in her father's living room.

Angel placed the cup down, well out of sight of the girls, knowing if they had to look at the blood inside it'd be harder to them to focus on his words.** "Before I flew out here I located a demon who deals in black market items. This demon was able to locate for me the blood of a Mohra demon. While you were still in a coma Faith, I came up against a Mohra demon. The blood of a Mohra demon, when mixed with that of a vampire can make the vampire human again."**

**"Wait, you're telling me your big solution is to what? Mix Lucky's blood with a Mohra demon's and make her human?"**

**"Yeah that about sums it up."**

**"Wow, that's...something I never thought about. But, why not use the blood for yourself? Become human again and you can be with B right?"**

Angel paused, knowing he'd have to tell Faith, and Fred, the truth about that day four years ago that only he carried a memory of.** "I did. When I came up against the Mohra some of the demon's blood mixed with a cut on my hand and I became human. Long story short, I realized that if I stayed human I would be putting Buffy in more danger than when I was a vampire because she'd have to protect me as well as fight the demons. So I told the Oracles to fold back the fabric of time and erase what happened. I'm the only one who remembers what happened that day."** Angel paused before switching gears.** "Lucky isn't fighting for redemption, if she became human again it wouldn't affect the balance of good and evil because she's already caught in the middle. Making her human would actually restore the balance by removing an ambiguous threat."**

**"What do you mean an ambiguous threat?"**

**"Lucky, from what you told me Faith, is trapped between being soullessly evil and good because of a soul. There's nothing but her fragile humanity holding her back. When that goes she'll be evil. If she became human, neither good nor evil would notice it. This is the best solution Faith."**

Angel's confident tone spoke louder than shouting ever would. He was convincing Faith of the truth of his statement. But there was still one issue Faith needed to clear up before she could get behind his idea.

**"Ok big guy, sounds like a good plan but there's one thing I gotta clear up first. Lucky killed three girls in an investigation that is still active. She left saliva at the scene of the third victim. If she became human and revealed herself to clear her fiance, which you know she'll do because he doesn't deserve to be in jail for a crime he didn't commit, she'd end up being arrested. I can't see the fairness in punishing the human for what the vampire did, do you?"**

Angel stopped to think about that. Fred, realizing she wouldn't have much to add to this conversation, had gotten up to use the bathroom. Faith and Angel were left alone in the living room. Angel thought about making a case for having Lucky pay for the crimes she committed but then thought about all the people he killed since he became a vampire.

Faith realized that, in a way, Angel was in the same position as Lucky. Even though he hadn't been sent to jail, Angel had been made to pay for his crimes by being cursed with a soul. But Angel was still free, he could walk the streets, granted only at night but still... and he was able to decide when he ate and when he slept. Faith remembered the total loss of freedom that being in jail entailed and didn't think that Lucky would survive that. However, Faith knew that it would be a hard task convincing the police not to arrest Lucky after she became human and cleared David.

**"Faith, maybe you should let Lucky decide what she wants to happen?"** Fred came back into the room and decided to say the one thing neither of the them would let themselves say. She knew, as an outsider, that a compromise on this issue would be hard to come by. Angel would want Lucky to pay for her crimes like he had to pay for his and Faith would want to avoid sending Lucky to jail if she could.

Faith and Angel both let Fred's words sink in before they locked eyes and nodded in agreement. Faith decided that she didn't want to ask Lucky until she could talk to Casey about the legal side of it first so she told Angel that they'd go see Lucky tomorrow night to talk it over with her.

**"Ok Faith, we'll wait until tomorrow night but right now, the Mohra demon's blood needs to be kept in a dark cool place."**

**"No problem, I put a small mini fridge in your room Angel so you could keep some blood there for during the day. Will that work?"**

**"Yeah that should do."**

**"Oh there is one more thing. Willow called me today. She found a way to remove the happiness clause from your curse Angel. She wanted you to call her so she could talk to you about it more. Here's her number."** Faith handed Angel the scrap of paper that Kennedy had first given her at the airport when they'd landed in New York.

The look an Angel's face was a priceless mix of disbelief and curiosity. He thought about what it would mean if he could find happiness with Buffy without losing his soul. His mind went back to that one perfect day he'd had with Buffy when he'd been human. Life could be like that day if Willow really could remove the happiness catch.

**"Thanks Faith. Can I use your phone tonight?"**

**"Sure, it's right over there. Fred and I will just go into the game room to give you some privacy ok?"**

Angel just nodded as Faith led Fred to the game room.

_Meanwhile across town..._

In a small, quiet apartment, a man sat on his couch in the dark. He was hoping it was all just a coincidence. The nature of the murders, the evidence left behind, and the Xeroxed pages he now held in his hands. Detective John Munch closed his eyes just as his phone began to ring. On the second chime, he reluctantly picked up the receiver and prayed it was a wrong number. No such luck.

**"Detective Munch?"** The voice on the other end of the line inquired, its British accent clearly evident.

**"Yeah it's me. What do you want this time?"** John knew this voice. Knew the man attached to it wouldn't be calling if it wasn't important. He also wished he didn't owe this man his life, it'd make it easier to say no when he called with a favor or seeking information.

**"I am calling to help you John. I am sure you must have some questions about the things that have been going on in your city lately. I know you've been wondering if you should call me about them. So ask your questions."** The voice spoke with taunting confidence, almost as if it knew how much John Munch wished he'd never been pulled into this...world.

**"Only one question this time. The three dead girls, am I chasing a vampire or a human?"**

The voice chuckled.** "Oh most definitely a vampire John. One sired in fact by Angelus _after_ he acquired his soul."**

**"How was that possible? I thought the soul was going to prevent that."** John couldn't help but ask, knowing that the information about Angelus was too important to pass up.

**"That's more than one question John but I'll answer it anyway. I don't know how it was possible. Only Angelus knows. Sorry John."**

**"I have one last question. Did you have anything to do with one of my colleagues getting her hands on a vampire anthology which details Angelus?"**

**"You mean _Vampyres 1025AD to Present Day_ ?"**

**"Yeah that'd be the one."**

**"Sorry John, but I had nothing to do with that. Though I imagine that whoever did had a reason for it."** The voice wasn't about to admit his role in that situation. Placing that book in Detective Benson's hands was easier than he thought it would be. He just hoped he was doing the right thing. After all, that book wasn't really supposed to be read by the public.

John Munch sighed as he realized that there was no real way of knowing the truth of how Olivia had gotten that book. He could only hope that she would continue to think of it as a work of fiction.

The voice, sensing an end to the detective's curiosity and cooperation spoke softly.** "Well John, if that is all, I bid you good night."**

The call disconnected before John could say anything else. As usual, there was no way for John to find out where the call came from. All he'd ever been able to find out was the call originated from a prepaid cell phone that couldn't be traced to anyone. John sighed again as the thought occurred to him that he'd better refresh his memory about Angelus. If he was linked to these murders, even if only by a vampire he'd sired, then John was afraid they'd never catch this vampire.

John stood up from his couch and walked over to his bookcase. It was a good thing no one ever came to visit him here. He'd have a 'fun' time explaining why his shelves included obscure texts on demons, vampires, and slayers. John Munch selected a copy of the same book that Olivia had been reading at the station. The wry smile on John's face was indicative of his own reluctance to read about Angelus again. He wasn't ready for the nightmares to begin again. But he also knew there was no other choice. Not this time.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 **

Monday morning dawned bright and clear and Faith woke up with one thought in her head: Olivia. She realized that she'd arranged with Angel to see Lucky the same night she had a date with Olivia. This would never work, Faith already knew she didn't want Olivia to know about Lucky and ducking out early from two dates would be very suspicious. Faith got dressed and walked into the darkened living room where Fred and Angel sat talking. Thanks to the dark blankets Faith had put up yesterday, Angel could sit in the living room and not burn to death. Faith smiled, thinking about Olivia and her date later. Then she quickly sobered up when she thought about Olivia and Angel meeting. Talk about awkward.

**"Morning guys." ** Faith said as she slowly passed the couch Angel and Fred were sitting on, never breaking her stride on her way to the kitchen for breakfast.

**"Hi Faith."**

**"Good morning Faith."**

Faith grabbed a bowl of cereal with milk before heading back into the living room to hang with her guests.

**"So, I know Angel's pretty much stuck in the apartment cuz of the sun but are you going to hang here too Fred?"** Faith asked before taking another spoonful of cereal.

Fred glanced at Angel who simply shrugged then turned to look at Faith.** "Um, actually I've never been to New York so unless someone goes with me I think I have to stay here."**

**"Oh, well if that's the only thing stopping you, I could show ya around. Unless Angel doesn't wanna be alone in the apartment."**

**"I have no problem being alone Faith you should know that by now. But what about your father? I don't want to cause a problem if he comes home while I am here alone ya know?"**

**"Don't worry about it. Dad's outta town for a bit. But I wanted to talk to you Angel, about the meeting tonight."**

**"What about it Faith?"** Angel asked.

**"I forgot that I had something else planned for tonight so I'm going to call Lucky and change it to tomorrow night ok? Can you stay that long?"**

**"Yeah I can. What you have planned tonight, does it involve the Lucky situation or is it a separate issue?"**

Faith smiled then, thinking about Olivia again. **"It's a separate issue big guy. Personal business matter." ** Faith hoped Angel wouldn't pry too much.

Angel could tell Faith didn't want to discuss her plans so he changed the topic.** "Ok then, I guess tomorrow night we meet Lucky. I guess tonight I'll just walk around the city sound good?"**

**"Sure, as long as ya don't attack anyone."** Faith said with a playful smile, knowing full well that Angel wouldn't attack anyone.

Fred decided to rejoin the conversation then, having been silent in deference to Faith's and Angel's conversation regarding their plans.

**"Faith, I've been researching New York on my laptop and I was wondering if we could go to a few places I read about."**

**"Yeah sure Fred, what places?"**

**"Times Square, Central Park, The Met, and the Wax Museum."**

Faith smiled, Fred had just named two of Faith's favorite places and two new ones shed been wanting to see but wasn't sure she could go alone. Something about museums, even wax museums, indicated that one should go to them with a friend or a date.

**"Not a problem. In fact, we could hit the museums before lunch, then grab some take out and have a picnic in Central Park and cap it off with some shopping in Times Square, sound good?"**

Fred just smiled big like a little kid promised candy and ice cream. Faith understood the grin and grinned back.

**"Well, I guess you two ladies have a full day planned so I'll let you get to it."**

Faith and Fred smiled at Angel and gathered their things to go out. Grabbing her keys, her wallet and a jacket, Faith led the way with Fred trailing behind her holding her digital camera. They left the apartment and stepped into the elevator.

**"Since traffic in this city is worse than LA on a good day, what do you say we skip the car and take the subways?"** Faith asked Fred as the elevator made its way down to the lobby of the building.

Fred smiled,** "this is your town now Faith, I'll just follow your lead."**

Faith smiled, knowing that she was more than up to the task of making this a memorable day in New York City for Fred, something for her to talk about to Wesley and Gunn when she got back to L.A. The two ladies exited the elevator and headed out of the building. Taking a left, they headed towards the nearest downtown subway staircase and went below the city. It was going to be a great day.

_Meanwhile back at Faith's Apartment..._

Angel was sitting in the living room just enjoying the silence when it was broken by the ringing of the phone. Angel glanced at the phone, torn between his own curiosity to see who was calling and his desire to not get Faith into any trouble if it was her father calling. After the fourth ring the machine picked up and Angel listened to the greeting before whoever called left a message.

**_"Hey Faith, this is Casey. Just calling to say hi and see if you wanted to meet for lunch. Well, you're probably out already so I'll try your cell next. Talk to you later cuz! Bye."_**

The machine clicked off as the call disconnected. Angel just sat there wondering who Casey was until he heard that last part...'cuz'. The cousin Faith mentioned now had a name. Casey. Angel smiled, it felt good to know that Faith had family here that wasn't evil. A few late night talks long ago had led to Faith confiding in him about her mother and her watcher and the hell that her mother put her through before her watcher came for her. It was good to know that Faith had a good support system in place here. Maybe that would help keep her on the right side. Angel knew that if she had had that in Sunnydale, there was a better than good chance that she never would've turned evil.

Angel wasn't blind, he knew Buffy could've been more supportive after Faith accidentally killed the deputy mayor, Alan Finch, but Buffy had dropped the ball. Add that to Faith's past and it was no wonder she went bad. Angel could freely admit that at the time he'd been to busy with Buffy to pay much attention to Faith as she slid back into the dark side of the slayer calling. But once he let himself take a moment to notice, he saw that Faith was more like he used to be than he was comfortable with so he tried to help her. He'd almost gotten through to her when Wesley had shown up with a crew from the Watchers Council and messed everything up. It had taken almost a year but he'd gotten a second chance with Faith and this time the council wasn't in time to mess it all up.

Now, three years later, Faith was back to where she needed to be. And Angel was glad that this time she was surrounded by people that cared about her and who wouldn't let her regress back to the dark side. Angel could only hope that Faith was never tested like that again...by taking a human life.

TBC...


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Faith and Fred toured the Metropolitan Museum of Art for three hours looking at everything they could. Faith loved the rooms that were set up to look like 15th century rooms, the differences between a bedroom from then and one from now always amused Faith. Fred had loved the Egyptian exhibit, the reconstructed pyramid, the mummies, the walls with hieroglyphics, all fascinated her.

When they had seen as much as they could in the three hours they had set aside for the Met, they exited the museum and went to the subway nearby to catch a train back downtown to get to the next museum on Fred's list, the Wax Museum. Despite the no flash photography allowed rule in the Met, Fred had managed to get a few pictures taken of the exhibits she thought Angel might like to see...especially the rooms Faith loved so much, thinking Angel might be able to tell them how authentic the museum workers had gotten them.

On their way to the subway stairs, Faith's cell phone rang. Faith checked the caller ID and then stopped on the sidewalk to answer it. **"Hey C, what's up?"**

**"Hey Faith, I just called your house but got the machine. Where are you?"**

Faith looked around, a little relieved that Angel hadn't answered the phone. She noticed the street signs.** "Um...outside the Met, 86th street and Fifth Avenue. Why what's up?"**

**"Oh, nice place. Playing tourist again?"** Casey chuckled.** "Seriously though I was calling to see if you wanted to meet up for lunch, but if you're busy I understand."**

Faith was torn. She loved hanging with her cousin but how in the world would she explain Fred's presence? Casey was under the impression that Faith was dating or at least trying to date, Olivia. If she saw her with another girl Casey might try to warn Olivia and that was not acceptable. If she explained Fred was a friend from LA, Casey would ask tons of questions Fred wouldn't know the answer to. It was all too confusing for Faith, so she decided to give Fred the choice of joining her cousin for lunch or not. **"Um, C, hang on a sec ok?"**

**"Ok."**

Faith turned to Fred and, with her cell held tight against her shoulder to prevent Casey from hearing them she asked, **"Fred, this is my cousin Casey calling about lunch. Do you wanna meet her or would you rather keep to the original plan?"**

**"Like I said Faith, this is your town, I'll follow your lead."** Fred answered as honestly as she could, though inside she was screaming at herself for not being firm and saying that she preferred the original plan. Fred knew she'd never have a real chance with Faith but a whole day spent alone together in New York City was better than nothing. Still, this was Faith's cousin, her family and Fred would never stand in the way of that.

Faith just sighed, frustrated.** "I am asking you Fred because I wanna know what you wanna do. I am fine either way so pick ok?"**

Fred smiled, Faith was so cute when she got frustrated.** "Ok, in that case, lunch with your cousin sounds fine. It will be nice to meet someone related to you."** The impish grin Fred gave almost made Faith nervous until she remembered that this was Fred and she was in some weird triangle with Gunn and Wesley. Fred was straight and Faith was interested in Olivia. Faith nodded then lifted the phone back to her ear, **"Still there C?"**

**"Yup, just sitting here waiting. Down time between trials, so we on for lunch or what?"**

**"As long as you don't mind if I bring a friend."**

**"A friend? Anyone I know?"** The tone in Casey's voice made it clear she thought that Faith's friend was going to be Olivia.

Faith smiled, her cousin was just too easy to read sometimes. **"Nah, someone new. From back in Cali, so when and where you wanna meet for lunch?"**

**"Same place we always meet Faith. In say, two hours?"** It was eleven fifteen right then so that meant one fifteen.

**"Yup, see you then. Ciao C!"**

**"See you then Faith. Bye."**

Faith closed her cell and looked over at Fred.** "You're not a vegetarian are you Fred?"**

**"Not that I can recall. Why what's up?"**

**"Oh, good because lunch is in two hours at Mickey D's ok?"**

**"Mickey D's? Is that a diner or something?"**

Faith looked at Fred like she'd just grown another head. **"You don't know what Mickey D's means?"** Fred shook her head, certain that she'd just come off as the sheltered country hick she still was deep down.** "It's a nickname for McDonald's...you do know McDonald's right?"**

Fred smiled wide then, of course she knew McDonald's she'd just never heard of it referred that way.** "Oh! Yeah I know McDonald's it's just, well, no one I know calls it that so I didn't recognize the nickname, sorry."**

**"Nothing to be sorry about, I'm just glad you know it. Anyway, that's where lunch is gonna be and we've got two hours. That's not enough time to hit the wax museum so what do you say we walk through Central Park on our way to the restaurant and we can cross the park off the list early?"**

**"Sounds like a good plan. Lead the way Faith."** Fred was determined to make up for the Mickey D's blunder and so she smiled a lot and let Faith play tour guide, somehow knowing that Faith got a little kick out of it.

Faith did indeed enjoy playing tour guide. She had only been in this city a few weeks but already it was home to her. She was proud of every bit of it and wasn't about to pass up a chance to show it off.

Faith and Fred walked through Central Park, seeing the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, Bow Bridge, Literary Walk and even the Balto statue before they made it out to 57th street. The golden statue once again caught Faith's attention for a bit and Fred soon noticed that Faith was fixed on it.

**"Faith, are you ok?"** Fred finally asked after Faith had been standing in the same spot just staring at the statue.

**"Huh? Oh yeah Fred yeah I'm fine, c'mon."** Faith snapped out of her thoughts and tried to lead Fred away from the statue but Fred could be very stubborn when she wanted to be.

**"Wait, Faith. Is there...is there something about that statue that bothers you?"**

**"Bothers me? No it's just...it's nothing just a stupid thing. C'mon were gonna be late for lunch."**

**"Faith,"** Fred grabbed Faith's hand and tugged her back to her side so she didn't have to talk very loud.** "we're friends right?"** All Faith could do was nod because she wanted to be Fred's friend but she was still not sure if Fred wanted to be her friend because she was being loyal to Angel or because she really liked Faith.** "Friends talk to each other and more importantly, they listen. So if there's something about that statue that bothers you then, please tell me?"**

Faith thought about it, wondering if it could really be that easy. Just talk to someone about why that gold statue always tugged at her memory and stopped her in her tracks. Faith looked into Fred's eyes and saw the sincerity in them and decided to take a chance on Fred.** "I honestly don't know what it is about the statue that messes with me but...it's like there's a memory in my brain about this place but I cant..."** Faith paused, searching for the right word,** "I dunno I can't seem to access it you know?"**

**"What kind of a memory?"**

**"I dunno...but it's something from a long time ago because as far as I can remember this is my first time in New York."** Faith stared at the statue again, trying to open whatever memory was locked away in her brain with no success.

Fred was at a loss as to what to say. It wasn't as if she had any kind of ability to unlock memories so she did the only thing she could do, Fred wrapped an arm around Faiths shoulders in a sort of half hug, offering what little comfort she could.

Faith leaning into Fred's hug, her own arms wrapped around her body as if trying to hold in the memory so it wouldn't escape.

After a few seconds, Faith pulled away.** "C'mon, we're gonna be late for lunch."**

Before Fred could say anything, Faith grabbed her hand and began to lead her away from the statue and towards the McDonald's on 42nd street.

The walk to lunch was silent as each girl was lost in her own thoughts. Fred was thinking about how much fun she was having with Faith, the museum, the park, even learning about Faith and the statue. Fred was looking forward to the rest of the day spent with Faith.

Faith was thinking about the statue and what it might mean that she couldn't be around it without feeling like she was missing something. She was also thinking about what she'd found out from her father, that she'd been born here in New York and that she'd lived here until she was three...supposedly back then she'd had a happy family, two parents very much in love and a daddy who doted on her. The Watcher's Council, her mother and the Slayer calling had blown all that away according to her father.

Before she knew it they arrived at the McDonald's on 42nd street. Faith smiled and led Fred inside, the whole time craning her head around looking for her cousin. Faith spotted Casey sitting in a booth by herself with a tray in front of her, one of the salads from the menu in front of her, untouched.

Faith led Fred over to Casey's booth and grinned when her cousin looked up at her, **"Hey C! This is my friend Fred, Fred this is my cousin Casey."** Faith made the introductions then motioned for Fred to have a seat.** "Fred I'm gonna go order, what do you wanna eat?"**

**"Um..."** Fred was going to say that she could order and pay for her own meal but there was something in Faith's eyes that made her think twice about that so,** "Big Mac value meal with a sprite...oh no ice please."**

Faith grinned, Fred's order was similar to what she liked too. **"Gotcha, be right back. Talk amongst yourselves."** Faith joked, knowing that the only thing Fred could tell Casey that she didn't already know was that Faith had been in prison, and somehow Faith knew Fred would never mention that.

Fred and Casey watched as Faith walked towards the counter to order. Casey then glanced back at Fred, curious.** "So, how long have you known Faith?"**

**"Oh, not long. Just a few months."** Fred was a little nervous, she was hoping Casey wouldn't notice the crush she had on Faith.

Casey watched Fred as she answered, the lawyer in her sensing there was more going on than what was on the surface. Fred was very attractive, Casey would understand if Faith switched gears and went for Fred over Olivia but...she couldn't see that happening. Something told Casey that Faith was set on Olivia and she knew Faith well enough by now to know that when Faith gets set on something, there's no deterring her.

After a few minutes, Faith returned to the booth holding a tray with both her meal and Fred's. Faith sat next to Fred in the booth as she set the tray down. Now that everyone had their lunch, Casey began eating her salad as conversation flowed easily between herself and Faith. Fred seemed to be content to just listen as she ate her food. Casey noted a definite shyness in Fred but didn't mention it.

Casey and Faith talked about Casey's job and Faith and Fred's trip to the museum. Casey even managed to draw a few responses out of Fred when she asked about the Egyptian exhibit.

By the time lunch was over, Fred had come out of her shell a bit more and was even smiling. Casey went back to her office while Faith and Fred walked to the Wax Museum.

**"Hey, Fred you were pretty quiet during lunch, you ok?"**

**"Umm...yeah I'm fine it's just well I get kinda shy around new people that's all. Sorry."**

**"No need to be sorry. I was just checking is all. C'mon, the Wax Museum is right up here. You got your camera ready?"**

**"Yup."** Fred grinned again, now that it was just her and Faith she was more open and talkative.

The girls entered the lobby of the Wax Museum and Faith paid their admission fee. They were directed up the main staircase to where the elevators were located. The car was half-full of the usual tourist crowd. Faith and Fred stood close together as the elevator made its way up to the ninth floor.

When the doors opened, they walked out and stepped up to the balcony. Faith and Fred paused a moment to look out at the room they'd entered. The ninth floor of the museum was set up to look like maybe an outdoor restaurant area. The theme of the room was opening night and the wax statues of celebrities in this room were dressed up as if they were attending a movie premiere or the opening night of a Broadway play. Faith smiled as she looked around the room. There, amongst the milling tourists were wax replicas of celebrities like The Rock, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Lopez and many others. Fred grinned as she spotted the life-like replicas and also saw that they were displayed in a way that allowed for pictures to be taken with the celebrities.

Faith and Fred walked down the small flight of steps that led to the main floor and began their tour, looking at the replicas and picking which ones they wanted pictures with. They spent roughly fifteen minutes on that floor enjoying the replicas and taking pictures on Fred's digital camera. When they were done, they began making their way down to the lower levels, stopping whenever they saw new wax celebrities to take a picture with, and even to learn about the history of the museum and its founder Madame Tussaud.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Faith and Fred made it back to Faith's building a few hours later, carrying several bags from different stores in Times Square. They'd stopped into the NBC store, the CBS store, the M&M store, the Hershey store, Toys R Us, the Disney store, and several other stores in the famed neon wonderland. Souvenirs that Fred intended to bring back to LA for Gunn and Wesley and a few items that Faith had bought for Dawn, Xander and even Buffy.

As they rode the elevator to the top floor, Faith's cell rang, Faith checked the caller ID and grinned and decided to have a little bit of fun with the caller, **"Spencer."**

Olivia grinned, liking that Faith was comfortable enough to joke around with her.** "Hey, this is Olivia...um...are we still on for tonight?"** Olivia hated sounding so insecure but she couldn't help it. She really liked Faith and hoped that the younger woman wasn't going to change her mind. She was well aware of the age difference and she hoped it wouldn't become an issue between them.

Faith smiled, well aware that Fred was standing next to her and listening,** "well that depends...no overtime tonight?"**

**"Nope, so far it's been a slow day."**

**"Then I guess I'll see you tonight at 7."**

Olivia smiled,** "good, see you then."**

Faith disconnected the call and looked over at Fred, grinning.

Fred saw the grin and she knew that Faith was even further out of her reach than she was before. But Fred put on a brave face, playing the role of friend and asked,** "Who was that?"**

Faith tried, without success, to wipe the goofy grin off her face as she answered, **"Um...that was...a uh, a friend. Well she's a friend now but I...um...I'm hoping that it will become more."** Faith felt the blush creeping up her neck but she didn't back down.

Fred looked at Faith in silence for a few moments, she opened her mouth to say something but the elevator dinged as it reached their floor. Fred smiled, and just as the doors were opening she said to Faith,** "I'm happy for you Faith, I hope it works out for you."**

Faith smiled,** "thanks Fred. C'mon let's go see what Angel's been up to while we were gone."**

With that, Faith and Fred walked into the apartment and found Angel sitting on the couch reading a book and a glass with a red liquid next to him on the end table. Faith immediately recognized it as blood and quickly ushered Fred into the kitchen so she wouldn't have to see it. Faith knew that most people had a problem with seeing blood in a glass. Faith left Fred in the kitchen and went into the living room to talk to Angel about his drink.

Faith walked into the room and noticed the glass was nowhere to be seen now.

Angel grinned, not looking up at Faith, **"sorry about that, I moved it out of sight. I didn't know what time to expect you and I got...hungry."**

**"Not a problem big guy, I can handle it but you know Fred is a civilian."**

**"Yeah I know."** Angel stood up and grabbed the glass discreetly before walking towards the room he was using, **"I'll be right back."**

Faith just nodded. She called Fred back into the room and then sat down on the couch as she waited for Angel to come back into the room. Faith's mind drifted back to Olivia, she smiled, thinking about all the things she wanted to one day do with the sexy cop. Faith's smile faded as she thought about Olivia's reaction to Faith's time in prison, not to mention the whole vampires are real issue that Faith was hoping Olivia would never learn about but, realistically, she knew that she'd have to come clean sooner or later.

TBC...

* * *

**A/N: That's it so far but the next chapter should be up soon. I am working on the next chapter of my Voyager fic first then I'll come back to this one. **


End file.
